The SteepleCats' players? Yes, but the description also fits another group that most fans will never notice or give much thought to — the SteepleCats' interns.
"It's a not-for-profit organization, so no one is full time," 'Cats General Manager Sean McGrath said in a recent telephone interview. "Obviously, our staff and volunteers go above and beyond the call. But right now we have three or four interns working a minimum of 40 hours per week to make the fan experience and the sponsorship opportunities enjoyable.
"Without our fans and sponsors, there would be no Steeplecats."
And without the labor — most of it free — provided by the interns, a night at Joe Wolfe would be far less enjoyable.
"Right now I'm working on contacting all the sponsors and working with them to find a theme, see what they need, find out how many tickets they need and getting an agreement drafted," intern Jon Conners said.
"Yesterday, we just finished scheduling all the events, and now we're also working on planning all the nights (the team is) going to host: Skydiving Night, Veterans' Night — which is going to be huge — Father's Day.
"And when we're not working on that, we're
On May 30, Conners was working the phone at the SteepleCats' office alongside fellow interns Clem Dugal and Tim Porter. By the time the season gets going on June 7, McGrath hopes to have seven or eight interns altogether, some full time and some working on game nights only.
"Of course, they'll have to do their share of grunt work," McGrath said. "But any intern who comes here will have the opportunity to think on their feet in a fast-paced environment and be responsible for their area of expertise, whether it's being the official scorer or broadcasting."
For Conners, a Newington, Conn., resident and Springfield College student, that area is marketing and promotions. Porter, a recent graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, will be the team's director of operations.
"I'll make sure you have an anthem singer for the night, take care of everything day to day, manage the interns on game night and make sure they know what they need to do, make sure there is security down at the field and make sure everything that what needs to be put out before the game — like tents and tables — is set up," Porter said.
Porter said he returned home to Brockton in past summers and will be attending his first SteepleCats game this week. He found out about the internship program from a posting on the MCLA campus and is happy so far with his decision to stay in North Adams this year.
"I feel it's a good starting place for a career," said Porter, who majored in business administration with a concentration in sports management and marketing. "The team operates pretty much the same as a minor league team. They face all the same issues any team would face."
Dugal had a chance to work for an actual minor league club this summer but chose the 'Cats.
"I was offered a job with the (Triple-A) New Orleans Zephyrs, and I was going to take the job there," Dugal said. "But I talked to (team President John B. DeRosa), and he told me about all the responsibilities I would have here. I felt these responsibilities as well as working right out of his law firm would help guide me the way I want to go: working in management or as a sports agent."
It did not hurt that Dugal got to come home to North County, where he grew up in Florida and graduated from Drury High School before attending Boston University and now Tulane Law School. He is entering his second year at Tulane, which offers a certificate of specialization in sports law. For undergraduates, one of the nation's top academic programs in sports management is right down the road from North Adams at Springfield College.
"They're always one of our first contacts in the fall when we're looking for interns," McGrath said.
The candidate pool is deepest for one of the Steeplecats' few paid internship positions: broadcaster and media relations assistant. This year, the person manning that post is Geoff Brault, a senior at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. All 'Cats games this summer will be Webcast, and it will be Brault's voice that listeners hear.
"It's a very competitive position," McGrath said. "We received 25 to 30 résumés. (Brault) was selected from a very professional group. We're talking glossy photos and CDs. It was very impressive interviewing that group."
One thing that impressed Dugal is the SteepleCats' 2007 schedule, which includes a date against Team USA (June 20) and the NECBL All-Star Game (July 22). Dugal is the team's special events coordinator, and that means he is planning both those dates plus festivities for the 'Cats' parents weekend. Working with USA Baseball and league officials will give Dugal exposure to contacts throughout the baseball world.
"It will definitely help me network," he said. "There are going to be quite a few scouts at the All-Star Game. I think this job will definitely help me take a step further in my career."
Those steps can lead all the way to the corridors of the nation's biggest sports franchises. North Adams native and former SteepleCats player and intern Shaun Richard works these days as an operations assistant with the Miami Dolphins.
"It was good to get behind the scenes and see how an organization of that caliber runs from top to bottom from the president right on to the players," Richard said. "I was able to find out how much work and effort goes into it."
Richard worked for the athletic department at MCLA and at Springfield, where he earned his master's degree. It was during the summer between his two graduate years that he interned for the 'Cats.
As the operations director, his responsibilities included coordinating field maintenance with the city, making sure the baseballs were rubbed up before the game and setting up the food for both teams after each game.
But it was one of his off-field tasks that he remembers best. Richard helped organize community outreach opportunities for North Adams players at schools and nursing homes — the same kind of events he coordinates today for members of the Dolphins.
"I owe so much to Sean McGrath not only for giving me the opportunity, but also for being the kind of guy who says, 'Here's a project. Make it happen,'" Richard said. "The thing about the SteepleCats is they hire good people and then they trust them."
Although 'Cats fans know about that other alumnus (the New York Mets' Joe Smith) who made it to the show, current and future interns will be more interested in following Richard's career path.
"With this ownership, we're trying to grow the internship program each year," McGrath said. "This is the most successful year we've had. The organization benefits, the community benefits and, just as important, the interns benefit from the experience."
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