Each Sunday night at 8 o’clock, the chat for small college administrators takes place on Twitter. The #SCAchat, as it is referred to, has proven to be a wealth of knowledge from a group who often have to make more of less than some of their collegiate counterparts at larger institutions. I didn’t have the pleasure of joining in this week, so here are a couple pieces that stuck out in reading back through this morning.

Check out the conversation: #SCAchat

It’s a business

I can’t recall who it was, but I remember reading someone saying they always call it ‘the business of sports’ in interviews, to emphasize that they understand the business side comes before the pleasure of working in sports. Though I thought it was a bit much, the point resonates daily and came up in this week’s chat.

In my first year at Central Missouri, I was fortunate enough to be part of a national championship run as the men’s basketball team won the Division II Tournament. I drove up the morning of the game, assisted with a UCM gathering at a nearby spot, and inevitably went to the game where – for the first time in a long time – I enjoyed a Central Missouri game as a fan.

Hours later (video, video, video) I was driving home on nothing less than a high. It was an experience I’ll never forget. But it’s a business and I’m an employee. About two hours away from arriving back home, I got a call to be back at work for the community’s gathering to welcome home our national champions. I had time to go home, shower, and change — and then I was right back in the thick of it for another four hours. It never stops.

Other duties as assigned

Delivering schedule cards and posters, sorting letter men jackets, organizing the apparel room, setting up and taking down tables for promotions, picking things up, droppings things off, and even picking up food – It’s all got to be done by someone, and oftentimes that person is you. When I interned with the Missouri Mavericks, a semi-professional hockey team, I vacuumed and took out the trash after grabbing the mail.

I laugh thinking about all of these things because every last person who has ever worked has been there. Sports is no exception. Be it a high school job or the first full time position with a team, nobody makes it through a successful stint with a team without a little dirty work.

A key point to me, as Jim Abbott stated in last night’s chat, is to remember appreciate that others do those things too. One thing I sincerely appreciate as a graduate assistant: Those in full time roles have been in my shoes and express their understanding. They know that some of the things grad assistants have to do aren’t glamorous – but they’re appreciated. Sometimes, that’s more than enough to get you through it.