Everyone does laundry. It’s a fact of our existence. But no one does laundry quite like the Castleton University equipment room; to the tune of 700 pounds per day or just under 5,000 pounds per week. If those numbers don’t sound daunting to you, think of the time it takes to dry 700 pounds of laundry in just one day. Seems like a full-time job and then some.
For Castleton’s Brian Smith ’07 it is just that, as he deals with over two tons of laundry per week during the fall months as Castleton’s Equipment Manager.
“Laundry isn’t a chore for me,” Smith claims. “It is how I help the student-athletes prepare for competition. I’m part of the team.”
Smith became Castleton’s equipment manager in 2011 and is a key reason why the athletic department has been able to grow and maintain its success. Brian’s days begin well before most student-athletes, when he goes around to each team’s locker room to make sure his student workers did the laundry work he had assigned them the night before.
Most nights the washer runs from the early evening until well after midnight to prepare for the following day.
“Without the student workers we would never be able to keep up with the volume. They play a huge part in making sure the equipment room runs successfully.”
In addition to the mass amounts of laundry, Smith is also charged with ordering new, and repairing old equipment, while making sure that each of the 29 teams is outfitted with the proper safety and performance equipment their sport demands.
To repair torn uniforms, Brian breaks out a year old sewing machine which in his estimation has already paid for itself. He honed his sewing skill as a kid and credits his mother with giving him the initial tools to repair the small rips and tears in jerseys.
“My mom just thought it was important that I know how to sew, and I enjoy repairing the jerseys and making them new again. Plus, it saves us a lot of time and money by doing the repairs in-house.”
Brian prides himself on is creating a big-time atmosphere for the student-athletes. Unlike many equipment managers at smaller institutions, Brian places each student-athlete’s uniform in his or her own locker at least three hours prior to a game. When they enter the locker room the jersey is hanging proudly, just like it would be at the professional level.
Brian’s team of student workers was never more important than when he and his wife Jody welcomed their first child, Emersyn Marie. His workers stepped up their efforts to allow him to take some well-deserved time off to be with his new family.
“The family atmosphere is amazing here. Jody and I were so thankful to have that time together, and to have everyone from coaches to administrators and students stepping up and helping out. It was awesome.”