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Drake University newcomers may struggle to find a group or organization that perfectly fits their interests. This struggle can be particularly challenging for former high school athletes, who previously owned a niche in high school sports and may miss the thrill of Friday night lights or packed bleachers of friends and family cheering them on.

But two first-years, who were forced to give up athletics to attend Drake, have found the best of both worlds.

Clayton Rey and Joseph Joswiak, roommates at Drake and former high school athletes, secured positions with Drake’s basketball teams, allowing them to remain involved with an athletic team while pursuing higher education away from home.

Rey and Joswiak are both part of the Gray Squad.

“Gray Squad basically means you help the team in their practices,” Joswiak said. “So, you’re a practice player for most of the drills.”

The Gray Squad is an unpaid position with Drake Athletics in which members scrimmage against the Drake women’s basketball team to help prepare them for games. Rey said members mimic the play style of opponents to equip the women’s team to play against their upcoming competition.

“It’s a great gig,” Rey said. “I show up and play basketball against people.”

Rey and Joswiak are also managers for Drake basketball teams. Rey is a manager for the men’s team, while Joswiak is the head manager for the women’s team. Joswiak is paid to be the women’s team’s head manager, but Rey’s position is unpaid.

Managers are required to arrive 30 minutes early to practices and two hours before games. They are responsible for bringing out ball racks and speakers, rebounding for the players and getting water for the team during timeouts in a game.  

While the tasks of a manager aren’t necessarily glamorous, the positions have given these two first-years invaluable experience.

“I knew that I’m not good enough to be playing basketball at a D1 level, but I still wanted to be a part of a culture and a family,” said Rey, who played varsity basketball at Naperville North High School in Illinois.

Although Rey’s position as a men’s basketball manager is unpaid, he says that the experience of being part of a team and finding a family is worth it. 

“Being able to watch your team win and say, ‘Hey, I kind of contributed to that,’ it’s a great feeling,” he said. “It’s something that even though I don’t get paid, it’s 100% worth the experience.”

Joswiak, who played varsity lacrosse and basketball at Crystal Lake Central High School in Illinois, echoed similar sentiments to Rey.

“I still feel that connection to a team now as a manager,” Joswiak said. “I just want them to win, and it’s all about them, not about me. So, I’m just trying to do the best I can to help them win.”

Although Rey and Joswiak found their team at Drake, both said the transition away from being an athlete was challenging for them.

“The transition was hard because I was committed to play lacrosse in college before I decommitted to go to Drake,” Joswiak said. “I really like the athlete-first mentality.”

Rey said that although managing has been a great experience, it was weird to be sitting on the sideline during practices. 

“I would say that playing on the women’s Gray Squad definitely helped me adjust because I still was able to play basketball and still help out by playing,” Rey said.

One of the challenges of being a student athlete is that less time is available for studying. While being on the Gray Squad and being a team manager doesn’t encompass the full commitment of being a student athlete, Rey and Joswiak have had to sacrifice time for their roles.

“It varies from week to week,” Rey said, adding that the commitment can be up to 20 hours each week.

Joswiak said he has enjoyed balancing classes, homework and his role with the team. 

“I felt like I was constantly doing something, which was awesome,” he said. “But I also didn’t feel overwhelmed, and I thought it was a good balance.”

Joswiak said he has no regrets about taking the role. 

“I think it was a really good opportunity for me just to do something that wasn’t school-related,” he said. “I definitely would recommend this position to somebody else.”

Rey and Joswiak’s friendship has allowed them to lean on each other when demands on their time are high.

“It’s really nice to be able to have someone that I know is going through a somewhat similar situation with balancing school and managing,” Rey said. “There were some times last semester where we’d both be like, ‘This is a lot, we have way too much stuff going on.’ But it is nice to be able to have someone that I consider a brother to me in that same situation.”