First Impressions as a Game Operations Assistant

Soon, I’ll be coming up on two months working as a Game Operations Assistant for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and I have already learned SO much. With last week’s Spurs preseason games under my belt, I thought I’d share some key takeaways from my journey so far!

As a Game Operations Assistant, I assist the Game Presentation team with game night duties. In the office, we do a lot of prep work, but the bulk of the job is game days. This includes running in-game promotions on and off the court, organizing pre-game and halftime performances and recognitions, and overall ensuring fans are entertained when the game isn’t actively happening. We want our fans to have a good time because that is what keeps them coming back.

Good experiences lead to great memories, which keep our loyal fans coming back! This job has been one of the most exciting things I have ever done, and getting to see firsthand what all goes into putting on an NBA game has been unreal.

We kicked off the preseason at Frost Bank Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder. I woke up that morning anxious out of my mind, but I had to keep reminding myself, ”I’m new. I’ll probably make a mistake, but it’s what I do after that matters.” Thankfully, this was a day about learning. The Spurs run preseason games almost exactly like they would a regular season, so it was a great way to learn before the official start.  It wasn’t only my first Spurs game but also my coworker Baron Bradley’s first as an assistant, so Reese Watson, another one of the assistants, walked us through everything we needed to do to set up marshaling, the area where we prep for in-game promotions and performance groups.

By 6 p.m., I was on pregame duties. Here, I was responsible for bringing our pregame performance groups out onto the court. Thanks to the help of my amazing boss, Ashley Behabetz, things went well! Then, we had our national anthem group. This was the part that made me nervous…it was a large group, and when I led them out there, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people on the court: players, coaches, and reporters, it was stressful. I gave myself a quick pep talk in my head, saying, “You have to get them set, so let's just go.” In the end, I was stressed about nothing, people moved, the group was set, and they had a great performance. The rest of the game went very well, I cued the hosts to start on-court promotions, I got to see my very first NBA game, and I started to feel confident in what I was doing!

Moving onto game two against the Magic, I really found my groove. Celissa Pena, an assistant who missed the first game but was here to help this time around, taught me how the check-in table works for contestants and gave me a different perspective on things as I was getting to do different assignments this night. Tonight was A LOT of cueing hosts, which I have now learned is my favorite thing to do… here’s something fun about counting down, “3, 2, 1, go!” for the host to get the crowd hyped and ready for the game or promo.

After a much-needed two days without a game, we were back at it with the Utah Jazz! This was a stressful pregame, for sure. Trying to get over 100 little girls out onto the court promptly was almost impossible, and everything we had discussed before going out there just simply did not happen. But we had to just get over it and try and do better next time, which is exactly what happened. My next group went out there running, got set, performed, and then ran off the court in a timely fashion, thankfully.

My favorite part of this game was getting to head up to the catwalk level for our H-E-B Beach Ball Mania promotion. Here, I get to signal our Hype Squad members to drop beach balls from the rafters for a contestant to then attempt to catch and place them in a shopping cart to win money from H-E-B. At the top, we set the beach balls, and then I noticed my headset was a little spotty, but I didn't think anything of it because I could still hear enough to do the promotion. Then…while dropping the beach balls…my headset completely lost connection. For the most part, the promo still went off without a hitch, but there was a small lag in my cueing to drop the beach balls because of my technical difficulties.

Overall, preseason games were a great way to gain an understanding of what the season will look like come October 26th and build confidence for when we take on the Houston Rockets!

Working for Spurs Sports & Entertainment means that I not only get to work with the San Antonio Spurs, but I also get to work with the San Antonio FC. This has given me the chance to broaden my knowledge of what goes into running various sporting events.

Soccer is a very different vibe. It's hectic for pregame and halftime, but we get a lot of downtime during the game, unlike basketball, where you always have to be ready for a timeout to be called. I am extremely grateful that I was able to get a few SAFC games under my belt before the Spurs season started because it allowed me to get an understanding of what we are doing. I learned what goes into setting national anthem groups, how they prepare and then run promotions, and how to cue a host with these games.

Beyond game days, one of the most unique experiences thus far was the opportunity to assist with the Spurs Content Day, where we captured player photos, videos, and promotional content for the season. On this day, it drove home the fact that working in sports and especially game ops can be one of the coolest things you can do…but it can also be quite…interesting…?

Half my day was spent tossing a basketball to players on the team, getting to watch them shoot all kinds of content to be used throughout the season. Not only did I learn a lot about content production, but I also got to witness the players' personalities and energy off the court.

However, the second half of my day was spent posted at a garage door, opening and closing it in the Texas heat for golf carts. Even with that, this job still had its cool moments as players were on the golf carts being shuttled between buildings, some even opting to drive the carts themselves.

Working with the Spurs has taught me valuable lessons about being quick on your feet and communicating with your team, but the biggest thing for me is that you can’t get hung up on your mistakes. Acknowledge them, learn from them, and do your best next time. Welcome feedback with open arms. You’ll get it soon, so don’t give up!

As we head into the regular season, I am eager to build on these experiences and help create even more memorable moments for Spurs fans!

Photo Credit: Isaiah Alonzo/San Antonio Spurs