By Lilly Watkins / Sports Reporter
Over Winterim, I decided to spend my three weeks in California with the Los Angeles Chargers. I have always had a passion for working in sports, and having a special interest in football made this internship the perfect fit for me. However, being born and raised a Titans fan made me pretty unfamiliar with a team across the country from me. It is safe to say every football team runs differently, and I was lucky enough to have a front row seat at a successful, playoff-making football team.
Transparently, I did not know what to expect going into my internship. We were brought in under General Manager Joe Hortiz, and I had done my prior research to ensure I knew the names of multiple players and coaches.
I did the internship with friend and classmate, Jamie Denton, and we were split up into different departments each week. The first day was definitely intimidating, as we walked up to the massive doors at their brand new, multi-million dollar facility, nicknamed the Bolt. It is freshly furnished with white furniture, multiple team meeting rooms, a press room, plenty of offices, a practice field, and so much more.
We started off the three weeks with business, on the top floor of the facility, which initially seemed pretty daunting. However, we got the hang of it and learned a variety of useful information about how a football team works off the field, including personal relations, fan engagement, and even the social media team. During the second week, we were on the bottom floor, with the equipment managers, trainers, and nutritionists. Our day with the nutritionists was one of my favorites. They ran us through the multiple trials they run on their players, like testing bone density and hydration. They also showed up how they plan the meals for the everyone working at the Bolt. Finally, they gave us their method for meal planning for each player, and how their eating habits vary based on height, weight, and even how much they sweat.
For our final week, we were on the middle level, with the coaches. This was definitely intimidating, as we were working just a few feet away from the Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh. We worked under three of their scouts, and they let us work on a lot of projects concerning their plans for the upcoming draft. It was slightly difficult to get the hang of first, but once we did we were able to work quickly and get everything done for them. It was very interesting to see their method for finding future players, and they did a great job of incorporating us into the action.
Overall, my Winterim experience was definitely an opportunity that does not happen very often, so I am very glad I took it. It solidified the direction I want to go in my future, showing me what I liked and did not like. For example, managing equipment on game days seemed like a very stressful task, whereas I felt very at home in the Personal Relations department. I cannot thank Joe Hortiz and the Chargers as a whole enough for this amazing experience, and I hope to be back in Los Angeles sometime soon.
