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This summer I was able to relocate to Willmar, Minnesota, to pursue my passion of working in baseball. The Willmar Stingers are one of twenty-six teams in the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is high level collegiate wood bat summer league. They play seventy-two games in just seventy-six days from May to August. The Willmar Stingers are the largest attraction in town, averaging an attendance of over one thousand fans each home game. In this role, I had to make tough decisions, work with a team, delegate tasks, serve customers, meet tight deadlines, problem solve, be detail-oriented, and work long and inconvenient hours. I was required to complete many obscure tasks around the ballpark whenever they were needed or daily. This included cleaning cooking equipment on off days, working events for sponsors/clients, grounds-crew work, and much more.
The main objective of my job was food/beverage management and fan experience. Day to day responsibilities included, but were not limited to, suite preparation, daily food and drink restocking, ballpark seat cleaning, fan zone setup, game-day signage setup, frying/grilling, and much more. In this role, I worked alongside my fellow hospitality intern, John, to make sure everything in the ballpark was perfect. When working operations for a sports team, it is very important to make sure everything is set in its proper place. Producing a product that that fans and sponsors are willing to spend time and money on is essential to create and run a successful product.
In my four-month residence I was able to make significant strides of professional growth. I improved my communication and customer service skills. Learning as much as I could about the operation helped me answer customer questions and satisfy unhappy customers by providing the solution to their problems. I also developed leadership skills that helped me handle difficult situations with coworkers and improved the day-to-day operation of ballpark setup. The most important skill I acquired was attention to detail. Noticing and fixing something as simple as a wrinkle in an outfield sign or the way a chair is positioned matters a lot. In my first few days, these are details I would overlook. In my final weeks of the internship, I understood the importance of these details and learned to always fix the little problems before they could become larger problems.
My internship in Willmar gave me much more than just skills to add to my resume. In this job I had many other great opportunities. I created relationships with many people along the way. I meet numerous Northwoods League employees in positions I strive to obtain one day. Through these relationships with executives, interns, front office employees, game day staff, owners, and even the commissioner of the league, I had the opportunity to learn about higher responsibilities and upbringings of all these amazing people.
I also experienced an amazing opportunity to travel with the team to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, where the all-star game was held. I also was able to take on a big role in the single day rebrand and relocation of the Stingers. For one day the Willmar Stingers became the Alexandria Beetles, a former team in the Northwoods League. We packed a U-Haul truck full of ballpark products, seating, and everything you need to operate on gameday. It was experience like no other. Looking back, this internship was an amazing opportunity. Spending a summer in the sports industry has strengthened my passion for working in baseball. This summer has also taught me a great deal about myself. I will not forget the great experiences and relationships I’ve made in a small Minnesota town!