Prior Lake High School has a ton of sports to offer all year round. Most of us go to the games to cheer on the teams but what is going on behind the scenes? It’s so easy to cheer for or feature the athletes, but almost every sport at PLHS has student managers who deserve accolades as well for their behind-the-scenes work. Like the athletes themselves, team managers are also students who have a ton of responsibilities that help make each season successful. 

The newly-sanctioned Boys Volleyball team is lucky to have Brooklyn Rentschler as their manager. 

In her second year as manager, Rentschler enjoys her job because she grew up playing volleyball and is very familiar with the sport. She also maintains her school work while balancing her social life, managing, and sports herself. 

For Rentschler, landing the job was easy. “I knew her (D’Silva) from when I played volleyball. She was my teacher, I took one of her cooking classes. She’s really big about advocating for it and so I reached out to her, and she told me to come to an open gym,” Rentschler said. 

The teams practice Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours at a time in order to prepare for their tournaments. While attending most games and practices, Rentschler has many responsibilities.

 “I toss balls a lot, shag balls a lot, do the music, and record stats. I do the social media too, so film and stuff like that,” she said. 

Having Brooklyn there to kind of manage everything — throw balls back and forth — really helps practice move along smoothly. It makes everyone’s lives easier knowing that there is an extra set of hands onboard,” said D’Silva. 

Norah Wagoner,  manager of the PLHS softball team, is also a great asset to the team. 

Like Rentschler, Norah’s responsibilities can range from running drills to getting ice. During games, she even serves as a first-base coach. 

Having a softball background also helps her understand the inner workings of the game, but she’s careful as well. 

She thinks something people don’t know about managing is that “it’s a lot easier than what most people may think, but it’s a job that can be taken away if you misuse your responsibility.” 

Some of her favorite things about managing are getting a front-row seat to exciting games and having friendships with really awesome, kind, and respectful people whom she normally wouldn’t have met if she didn’t become a manager. 

Last, Hallie Jensen manages Track and Field, one of the largest sports at PLHS, and she takes her responsibility seriously. 

During practices, she helps with testing and recording speed and times for runners. She also tests and records stats for events like the long jump and the high jump. 

Hallie says, “I do a lot more work than most people think, but it’s truly a fun experience where I get to meet a lot of amazing people and make a lot of friends.” 

Her favorite thing about managing is how much fun she has getting involved with a school sport, even if it’s just to help out. 

This goes to show that being a manager takes accountability and responsibility, but it can be a great learning experience and super fun!

Clearly, Rentschler, Wagoner, and Jensen help make the Prior Lake Spring sports seasons the success that they are. We commend all of the behind-the-scenes sports team managers for all of our sports seasons, and we appreciate all they do for our school!