UW-Whitewater’s athletics program is in good hands as Angela Kelm and Broderick Frye stay busy working behind the scenes on game days, completing various different tasks that help the program run smoothly.
Frye holds the title of assistant sports information director, while Kelm holds the title of assistant athletic director for sports information.
Their tasks can vary depending on the sport and how the competitions function. Ranging from keeping track of stats or facilitating post game interviews/press conferences, the responsibilities that both Kelm and Frye hold are key to the success of Whitewater athletics even when their work is mainly behind the scenes.
Keeping track of the stats in a game or competition is important when it comes to any sport – capturing every moment that will be held in the books forever. This is one of the main tasks that occurs on game days.
“For me, my primary responsibility is statistics because we are mandated to send them into the NCAA,” Kelm said.
Along with taking accurate stats of the game, another task is ensuring that live streams are running well to allow family, friends and fans to be able to watch Whitewater sports when they are unable to attend.
“During the game itself, we have to make sure to take accurate stats and also have the stream up for fans,” Frye said.
Communication is crucial on game days. Coaches and directors being on the same page plays a huge role in guaranteeing a well run game day.
“Communication is key. We value open lines of communication with coaches and our event operations partners as we all need to be on the same page to provide a fantastic gameday experience for everyone involved,” Kelm said. “We schedule meetings with event operations and head coaches prior to the start of each competition season to go through the gameday process/protocol, major events and other information.”
It’s important to note that coaches may want the directors to go about their jobs in a specific manner as the season progresses. By meeting at the beginning of a season to outline game day procedures, everyone is on the same page.
Although game days are planned in advance, it’s crucial for directors to ensure everything runs smoothly, regardless of any unforeseen challenges.
“I try to set up two hours in advance,” Frye said. “By giving myself the extra time, I don’t have to scramble when we need to make an adjustment to anything.”
Always having to connect with various different student athletes and coaches, it’s important for directors to maintain positive relationships across different sports.
“Building that rapport with teams has been mutually beneficial,” Kelm said. “Student-athletes are more confident asking questions as to what my role is and what our protocols are while I learn what is important to them – and that changes from sport to sport, which is important in today’s social media heavy world. Having those open lines of communication allows us to adapt from year-to-year and even team to team to best suit the needs of our programs as much as we can.”
With staff and personnel constantly changing, maintaining positive relationships from year-to-year can benefit directors navigating their roles and provides them with a better understanding of how everything should operate.
Both Frye and Kelm began their professional journeys in the UW System, giving them the initial opportunities to pursue being directors. Frye got his start working as a student at UW-Stout in the sports information department and Kelm got her start at Whitewater, also working as a student.
“As an undergraduate student, a teammate of mine introduced me to our former SID Tom Fick,” said Kelm. “I applied and was hired for the job as a student worker, moved into a supervisory role, stayed on as a graduate assistant and eventually was hired as an assistant SID.”
A lot happens behind the scenes on game day that most people don’t see. Directors juggle multiple responsibilities allowing everything to run smoothly, ultimately letting coaches and student-athletes to focus on their performance and enjoy an organized experience.
