Long Beach State University Athletics
Photo by: John Fajardo
Martina McCowan Prepared For Her Next Step With Los Angeles Sparks Internship
9/13/2018 10:31:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Long Beach State senior is set to graduate following the 2018-19 season.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Senior Martina McCowan of women's basketball was able to work with the Los Angeles Sparks as an intern this past season. Learn more about her experiences with the WNBA organization in this Q&A.
How did you get started working with the Sparks?
I'm a journalism major and we're required to have an internship, and since my last year of basketball is coming up, I wanted to find an internship focused around basketball. I was able to find this internship online, and after my phone interview, I was excited to get hired. It's a really great organization, they're really friendly and welcoming.
What were your responsibilities during the internship?
I worked in game operations while I was at the Sparks, working with Danielle Westerfield, who was really cool, she was a good teacher and a good listener. I helped with the pregame side of things, and then help execute everything pregame.
What did you learn from being around the team and the organization?
Working in game operations, there was such a focus on things being on schedule and getting done in a timely manner because it's live entertainment. Everything that we prepared for pregame we had to execute during the game at an exact pace or on an exact cue, otherwise we would miss the shot or it would look funky. The crowd might not know, but we would know, and learning how to get that all done right was really important.
What did you take away from your internship that you can apply to this season with women's basketball?
I've been so focused on basketball my entire life, that was my first job ever so I really emphasized the value of being organized, being on time, and being friendly. The people that you meet today may impact your future tomorrow. Learning how to asking for help was another thing that I took away from it. If you didn't know to do something when it was assigned to you and she expected you to do it in-game and you still didn't know, that comes back on you because you should have asked in our pregame meeting when everything was getting set up.
Ways that I'm going to apply that experience here are helping my teammates in a friendly way, but still holding them accountable. It was the same there, they held us accountable at the Sparks, you're there to learn but they still expected us to do what we needed to do. It's also important to come in every day with a positive attitude, and I'm going to do that, come into every day of my senior year with a good attitude and stay outgoing and learning all I can.
Did you have the chance to meet Sparks General Manager and former Long Beach State All-American Penny Toler?
I did actually. I told her that she's a legend here at school! Hopefully she can get the time and opportunity to come see us this year, but even if not, I met her and I got to see how big of a role she plays. She's a really friendly person, and is approachable and easy to talk to even while she has such a high-up position.
What are you looking forward to this season?
I'm looking forward to getting better every day with my teammates. We want to win the Big West Conference championship and the Big West Tournament. Both would be great, or either or! We're already getting better every day and have a great attitude. I'm looking forward to having fun my last year.
What's next after graduation?
After graduation, I want to pursue sports journalism. I want to stay around sports, doing sports broadcasting or sports writing, something in that field.
How did you get started working with the Sparks?
I'm a journalism major and we're required to have an internship, and since my last year of basketball is coming up, I wanted to find an internship focused around basketball. I was able to find this internship online, and after my phone interview, I was excited to get hired. It's a really great organization, they're really friendly and welcoming.
What were your responsibilities during the internship?
I worked in game operations while I was at the Sparks, working with Danielle Westerfield, who was really cool, she was a good teacher and a good listener. I helped with the pregame side of things, and then help execute everything pregame.
What did you learn from being around the team and the organization?
Working in game operations, there was such a focus on things being on schedule and getting done in a timely manner because it's live entertainment. Everything that we prepared for pregame we had to execute during the game at an exact pace or on an exact cue, otherwise we would miss the shot or it would look funky. The crowd might not know, but we would know, and learning how to get that all done right was really important.
What did you take away from your internship that you can apply to this season with women's basketball?
I've been so focused on basketball my entire life, that was my first job ever so I really emphasized the value of being organized, being on time, and being friendly. The people that you meet today may impact your future tomorrow. Learning how to asking for help was another thing that I took away from it. If you didn't know to do something when it was assigned to you and she expected you to do it in-game and you still didn't know, that comes back on you because you should have asked in our pregame meeting when everything was getting set up.
Ways that I'm going to apply that experience here are helping my teammates in a friendly way, but still holding them accountable. It was the same there, they held us accountable at the Sparks, you're there to learn but they still expected us to do what we needed to do. It's also important to come in every day with a positive attitude, and I'm going to do that, come into every day of my senior year with a good attitude and stay outgoing and learning all I can.
Did you have the chance to meet Sparks General Manager and former Long Beach State All-American Penny Toler?
I did actually. I told her that she's a legend here at school! Hopefully she can get the time and opportunity to come see us this year, but even if not, I met her and I got to see how big of a role she plays. She's a really friendly person, and is approachable and easy to talk to even while she has such a high-up position.
What are you looking forward to this season?
I'm looking forward to getting better every day with my teammates. We want to win the Big West Conference championship and the Big West Tournament. Both would be great, or either or! We're already getting better every day and have a great attitude. I'm looking forward to having fun my last year.
What's next after graduation?
After graduation, I want to pursue sports journalism. I want to stay around sports, doing sports broadcasting or sports writing, something in that field.
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