If Berlin native Kelly Foy never works another game as a manager for the women’s basketball team, she will be all right with that.
Foy has been a manager for the UConn women’s basketball team for the past four years and her last game (so far) was when UConn beat Notre Dame for the Big East Championship.
She was not assigned to the first two rounds in Bridgeport, with games on Saturday and tonight (Monday) but that was OK because it allowed her to go to Spring Break in Mexico with her friends.
“I have been a manager all four years,” said Foy, who will graduate in May with degrees in Psychology and Accounting. “My freshman and sophomore year we won the National Championship and last year we went to the Final Four in San Antonio.”
Foy was awarded a Big East champion watch with the rest of the team, coaching staff and managers after the win over Notre Dame. She has earned a lot of swag as manager for the world class Huskies.
So how does one become a manager?
I used to keep stats in high school,” she said. “When I was going to college our trainer at the time had worked at UConn and she said she would make a call if I was interested. I had an interview with (assistant coach) Jamelle Elliott, who was still there. She’s the head coach at Cincinnati now. It went well and I started working.”
Foy said she has built great friendships with all of the players, managers and coaches.
“They mostly hang out with each other but I mean if we see each other on campus, we always stop to talk,” Foy said. “I’m closer to some of them than others but we’re all pretty close.”
Foy said the coaches treat the managers like they are part of the team.
“We go all over the country and we see how other programs work,” Foy said. “At a lot of places the managers are really looked down on and not appreciated. At UConn we not only feel like we’re part of the team but part of a big family. The coaches have all said that if we ever need anything they are there for us and would never hesitate to write us letters of recommendation if we ever need them.”
Foy said that the head husky, Geno Auriemma, is very misunderstood.
“You see him on TV or in press conferences and he makes some funny remarks and people think he’s arrogant or cocky but he may be the classiest man I’ve ever met,” Foy said. “There is a reason the team is so successful. It’s not just the great players and great coaches but the way the team is run.
“When we won the Big East championship he made sure he took the time to find all of the managers and give us all a big hug. He was so happy and so were we that we finally beat Notre Dame. There has never been a day at practice where he stormed into the gym or anything like that. He always stops and talks to the managers to see how classes are going or if we need anything. He pushes the girls hard and he expects a lot from the managers but he is thankful to have us.”
Foy will find out Tuesday if she will travel with UConn to the next round of the NCAA Tournament. UConn must first beat Kansas State tonight and then she has to be assigned to the Kingston, RI regional by the senior managers.
“We have three senior managers and they all do such a great job of assigning the games,” Foy said. “They are fair and understand our schedules.”
Foy said she will likely got to a small Graduate School in Boston in the fall but her years as manager of the UConn women will never leave her.
“I have formed a bond with the girls on the team, the managers and coaches that will never be broken,” she said. “We have been through so much, good times and bad, that we will always have each other. There is honestly not bad thing I could say about this program. It’s the best.”
