Loads of spirit: Equipment manager the ‘rock behind the scenes’ of Coyote athletics

Downstairs in the DakotaDome, between administrative offices  and locker rooms, sits Sara Wieseler, surrounded by shelves of athletic equipment near her office desk.

Wieseler is the head athletic equipment manager at the University of South Dakota and works as part of the staff behind the scenes of Coyote athletics. Her role isn’t the most glamorous.

Her job includes ordering sports apparel, washing athlete jerseys and gear, checking out equipment and transporting equipment. Wieseler does this for all 17 athletic teams at USD. She even travels with the football team.

On average, she will complete about 10 loads of laundry for all the sports every day — on top of all her other duties.

Wieseler said her duties keep her busy. She said the job starts as early as July and August, ordering new apparel for the teams. Her busiest job is doing the laundry, especially during football season when the team completes two practices a day.

Luckily, Wieseler has help from undergraduates and graduate students to get the job done.

“I do have students working for me during work study to help with the laundry, inventory and equipment,” Wieseler said.

As one of Wieseler’s graduate assistants, Alexa Rudeen said Wieseler is the best person for the head athletic equipment manager position.

“She is a great boss. I’ve been here for seven years and no one works as hard as she does,” Rudeen said.

Wieseler may work behind the scenes of USD athletics, but her coworkers said she plays a big role in USD’s Division I professionalism.

“She’s that person you know you can count on for anything regardless of what time you call,” USD softball coach Amy Klyse said. “She’s kind of like our rock behind the scenes. We count on her for the everyday things you’d count on an equipment manager for, but she goes beyond that duty to help with field maintenance, turf rolling and jumping cars.”

Wieseler said although she has a lot of work transferring equipment, seeing the games from the sidelines is worth it.

“Game day is a unique experience because you are on the sidelines and see so many other things that the average person wouldn’t see in the stands,” she said.

Wieseler said she enjoys picking out apparel “because it is shopping,” and getting to see the athletes’  faces when they are given the items is priceless.

One of Wiesler’s favorite things about her job is being involved with all of the athletes every day — even if it’s just to check out equipment.

“(I like the) interaction with all the athletes and being around sports,” Wieseler said. “I love traveling with the football team.”

Originally from St. Helena, Neb., with a degree in Sport Management from Wayne State, Wieseler’s first experience with USD sports began in 2007 when she interned with Gary Madsen, the athletic department’s operations manager.

Weisler worked with him from August through December, and in January of 2008, he hired her as a full-time facility worker, Wieseler said.

She said she has enjoyed her job and being around sports ever since, which is leaving an impression on her favorites sports teams — USD Coyotes.

“She is capable and willing to do anything you bring to her attention,” Klyse said. “Our program runs with a lot more ease because of the time she gives to it.”