By Jessica Mitchell
Kristen Glover has become more than a manager for the college baseball team: she has become like family.
Glover turned her love for baseball into a job by becoming the manager for the college’s team. She has held the position for four years, but will be leaving at the end of this season to further her academic career.
“I just love the game of baseball,” she said. “I grew up with it all my life. All through high school I was the manager for different sports.”
Glover assumed her managing duties would cease after high school, but was surprised to meet one of the college’s baseball players in the bookstore. After briefly talking with the player, Glover hurried to the coach’s office to enquire about a job. A phone call the following day assured her of the position.
Like most team managers, Glover is expected to be present for games and practices.
“I get everyone everything they need – like water,” she said. “[…] I’m just there in case someone gets hurt. I just get them whatever they need. I make them lunches; bring them sunflower seeds and gum. I go beyond my duty of manager.”
Having been the manager for four years, Glover has become close with the players and the coach alike. The men have become like her big brothers, she said.
“It started with Ryan – he started the big brother,” Glover said. “After that year, ever since, the big brother would have to nominate someone else […] now it’s Cam. Cam is the lucky one to be last. That’s what I am going to miss the most, my big brother Cam. He keeps me going.”
One of the most memorable moments during her four years with the team is the passing of her father in 2010, Glover said.
“Individually [the team] lined up and said, ‘We will be here for you no matter what,’ and they hugged me and made me feel comfortable,” she said. “That year we won our division. My dad was proud and wanted us to win.”
The impact of Glover’s father’s death became somewhat of a motto for the team and a reason to push forward.
“If you look really closely, some of [the players] have bracelets that say my dad’s birthday and when he passed away,” Glover said. “There is also a little saying on it, ‘New day new opportunity.’ We go with that saying a lot. We will do better.”
Having spent so many years as the manager, the admiration goes both ways with the team and Glover.
“Kristen has been a big part of our program the past several years,” said Kent Shelley, head baseball coach. “She has been a great friend of the baseball program. She’s been our manager and has done a great job assisting us whenever needed. I’ve watched her develop as a team manager but more importantly, I’ve watched her develop as a person. She’s just meant a great deal to me and our baseball family.”
Glover is leaving the college at the end of this semester to continue her studies at MidAmerica Nazarene University. Having battled with ADHD, she aspires to become a first grade special education teacher.
“I’m going to take a semester off and get my feet planted at MidAmerica,” Glover said. “If it works out in my schedule then I [will manage baseball], but I really want to concentrate on my degree. I’ve been here for four years and I want to get my teaching degree before I’m 30.”
Glover said she will continue to follow the college’s baseball team and root them on whenever her free time allows.
“On behalf of our baseball program, we would like to thank Kristen for her support, her loyalty and dedication,” Shelley said. “We wish her the very best in her new endeavors at MidAmerica Nazarene University and she will always be an important part of our baseball family.”
Contact Jessica Mitchell, features editor, at jmitch54@jccc.edu.