When most people think of equipment managers, the first image that usually pops up is the pimple-faced lame in high school that washed uniforms after failing to make the team.
Jay Robinson, Winston-Salem State’s equipment manager, and his staff don’t fit that mold.
Robinson and his staff are responsible for ensuring that each player has the proper equipment. The staff makes sure the equipment is fully functional, and they also make any needed alterations and repairs, including cleaning the equipment. After each practice and each game, a member of the staff collects all of the player’s uniforms, then washes and dries them.
WSSU’s home opener against North Carolina A&T was a game that generated a lot of attention. In preparation for the game, Robinson and his staff worked long hours, in order to ensure that the Rams looked their best as they marched out onto the field. Each helmet was sanitized, shined, and decorated with a decal. Each jersey was sized and numbered to accommodate the specific player who was designated to wear it.
In the game of football there are various positions, each requiring different types of equipment. Robinson is responsible for doing inventory, identifying what the players need, ordering the equipment, and making sure his staff distributes the items to the various players. Equipment managers also provide gloves, visors, braces-knee, neck, ankle, and shoes. Each player is fitted for his helmet, shoulder pads, and provided with all other necessary padding.
Being Equipment Manager isn’t the most glamourous job, but Robinson and the student volunteers take pride in what they do. The students, mostly sport management majors, are provided with the opportunity to gain experience related to their major, as well as contribute to the efforts of the team.
Robinson, a 2004 WSSU graduate, paid his dues before being promoted to full-time duty this year.
“He is deserving of the position, he stuck it out with us for six years on a part-time basis and I’m glad that we can reward him with this full time position, a much needed position for all of your athletes,” said football head coach Kermit Blount in a press release.
Robinson pays a great deal of attention to detail. He designs the team jerseys and ensures that the hue of the color (the red, for example) is the specific shade that he requested.
“As long as we’re doing our job right, very few people notice us; but the minute we mess up, everybody will notice,” Robinson said. “Just imagine if the team came out wearing pink pants!”