University of Minnesota Duluth women's track and field's Alaina Hageman is an efficient woman. She plans ahead, she's motivated, and she knows what she wants. Amongst her busy (yet meticulously organized) schedule, we were able to squeeze in a quick chat about how she is using these qualities to pursue one of her greatest passions: Coaching. 

 

Savannah Schley: All right! We're rolling. First things first, let's start with a brief little introduction. What's your major, year, and what do you do here? A little "All About You," if you will. 

 

Alaina Hageman: Yeah, so I'm a junior from Foley, Minnesota. It's a small town outside of St. Cloud. 

 

SS: Represent!

 

AH: Haha, yep, represent that small town. My majors are in history and social studies education, and then I have a minor in coaching. I run track and field here. I run middle distance/long sprints. So 400m and 800m– 

 

SS: A great combo, of course.                           

 

AH: Yes, the same events as Sav Schley. 

 

SS: I am just blessed to share the track with THE Alaina Hageman. 

 

AH: Haha. 

 

And so yeah- then this year I got started with the basketball team and being their manager. 

 

SS: How did that opportunity come about?

 

AH: I had been thinking about it. Well– let's jump back. Last year, I took the year off from school, went home and got a coaching position at my high school. I was coaching girls JV basketball–

 

SS: Which is a pretty big deal for someone your age to be doing. 

 

AH: And it was people that I had played with too, so it was pretty fun to then be coaching them. But I knew I had to come back to UMD, you know, I still wanted to compete, but I really loved coaching. And so the whole summer I was thinking about it. "Should I send Mandy Pearson an email?" But I was a little scared.

 

SS: Well sure, that's intimidating. 

 

AH: Yeah, because she could say no. 

 

And then, the start of the school year came, and during one of my coaching classes, the professor was like, "Get out and get experience." I was just like, alright, I'm gonna send the email then. 

 

SS: It was a sign!

 

AH: Right? So I sent the email later that day, just basically asking if I could come in and help. I explained that I was a coach the year before, but now I was back up at UMD. 

 

She responded a few days later and was just like "Yeah, I could use some help." Originally I was only supposed to help out on Wednesdays, because that's when we don't have practice, but then it turned into, "Oh you guys have morning practice today, I'll come to that," or "You have Saturday practice, I can make that." 

 

So I just went to everything I could. 

 

SS: Sure, because you enjoyed it, and you wanted to. 

 

AH: Yeah I enjoyed it a lot. And I was like a little sponge, just wanting all of the information. 

 

SS: So what did taking on this manager-type role look like for you? What did the day-to-day look like, and did you get to build relationships with the women on the team?

 

AH: To start, it was a lot of watching. That was perfect for me because like I had said in my email, I just wanted to be able to learn from other coaches. But then I also got to help out with some little things like running the clock and eventually being able to do some passing and drills; playing defense when they needed it. 

 

Then when I was able to travel with them, it got more into the logistics side of things. I helped order their food when I could, and really just focused on doing anything I could to make the coaches' jobs easier. Cleaning their jerseys, getting the halftime stats report, little things like that. 

 

SS: That's such a cool experience. 

 

AH: Yeah and so, I actually played basketball with one of the women; I played with Myra for a couple years in middle school. We played AAU together and she was really welcoming. Once I started actively passing and being a part of the drills the women started to warm up to me, and yeah, they started calling me Manny. 

 

SS: "Manny" as in manager?

 

AH: Yes- whenever I text them now, and I'm like, "Hey, it's Alaina Hageman," I always follow with "Manny" in parenthesis. I don't know if they actually know my name.

 

SS: They definitely do, but that's funny. When you get a nickname, it's like, you're in. 

 

AH: Yeah, haha, that's what it felt like. And I mean- it took some time. I'm kind of shy. Maybe not shy, but I kind of stick to my own bubble, unless someone comes up and asks me something. 

 

SS: And so, will you plan to do this again next year?

 

AH: I will do it next year. It will be a little tricky, because I'll be student-teaching, but if they have morning or Saturday stuff, I'll go to that. 

 

SS: And also in that same breath, you aren't student-teaching this year, but you're doing a lot of classroom observation hours right? And last semester as well? 

 

AH: Yup. 

 

SS: How do you manage all of that? With your class schedule? And training? Anyone who knows you knows you are such a schedule-oriented woman. It seems like you are always doing six million things, but are somehow on top of all of it. How do you do it?

 

AH: Yeah, so I mean, right now, I'm taking 21 credits—

 

SS: That is just crazy to me. 

 

AH: And so yeah it's a lot. Looking at the schedule, it can be a lot. So I get ahead on anything I can. Over spring break, I finished a whole class aside from the final. I just do everything ahead of time if I can, and I'm a big planner. 

 

SS: Primary teacher qualities right there. 

 

AH: Haha yeah. A lot of planning and working ahead so I can stay ahead and not stress. 

 

SS: I just really admire that about you because I cannot relate. 

 

AH: That's just how I operate. 

 

SS: And I love it. 

 

Outdoor track season is coming up- What are you looking forward to?

 

AH: I get to run the 800m. I haven't ran an 800 since high school. My track career in college has looked kind of different. My freshman year I kept getting sick or hurt, and so I only ran like six meets total, and then I took my sophomore year completely off. Coming into junior year with only six meets under my belt is a little odd. 

 

I'm excited to do the 800m again, and just to get out there because I kind of feel like time's winding down.

 

SS: Oh my gosh, tell me about it. And to pivot away from that scary reality, another thing I was wondering about was how Coaches Karly and Brette felt about/accommodated you with this  opportunity to help out with women's basketball this year. Were they supportive of the experience?

 

AH: Oh 100%. 

 

SS: Well I'm sure they can see through so many of your qualities that you would be such an excellent coach. 

 

AH: And I've talked about being a coach with both of them since I was a recruit, and so they know that that's my goal. They've been really supportive. 

 

I didn't really tell them ahead of time I was gonna do it. And so then they saw me at a game, and were like "Whoa, like what's going on?" And they were really excited. When the opportunity came up for me to travel with them for their playoff game, (I didn't have a meet that weekend), I sent them a text and was a little nervous because it still meant missing practice. They were both like, "Yeah that sounds like a great opportunity, go do it." 

 

SS: We're so blessed to have them be so supportive of the things that matter to us. 

 

AH: So supportive. Even on the track side, during my freshman year when I was hurt and couldn't run, I asked Coach Brette like, "Can I come to practice and can you teach me about wicket drills?" Because I wanted to know, "Why do you do this?" and "How do you do this?" And she has always been like, "Oh of course, come on."

 

SS: I think that is so special. You are someone who has so many of those qualities when it comes to being a great coach. You're detail-oriented, and interested in learning and understanding those things. 

 

AH: I try to be like a sponge in that sort of regard. I was Foley's ball girl when I was in first grade. My dad knew the head coach and asked if I could come hang out at practice. I went to the varsity practices and helped when I could. Sometimes I would get to do a little passing but for the most part I would just watch. I guess it's just kinda in me at this point. 

 

SS: Oh my cute. 

 

AH: I would say the biggest thing for me is that I want to coach at the high school level. That's obviously a bit different than coaching at the college level. The talent pool and the depth you have when it comes to college versus high school is just gonna be different. But the logistics of it all, the X's and O's, they all carry over. 

 

Working with Mandy and the rest of the basketball coaching staff has really opened up doors. Mandy is from a small town outside of St. Cloud too. 

 

SS: And so with basketball being a huge passion of yours– Is coaching a way in which you get to hold on and keep it with you? In that, as you grow, it grows with you in a way?

 

AH: Coming into college, I had to decide if I wanted to play basketball or run track. They're both really important to me, but I really wanted to go to UMD, and so running track was a more realistic option for me here. 

 

Being able to manage and help out does keep me plugged in, in a sense, but the bigger thing is that I just want to be ready so that, when the time comes and I graduate, and that head coaching job comes up, no one, and I mean they'll probably still say it, but like, they can't hold over my head that I'm young, that I don't have experience. 

 

Because I do. I've had this experience at the college level, and I've run youth programs. I really want to go back to Foley, and Foley's basketball program has kind of struggled. I want to go back and rebuild it into something. 

 

SS: That's so special.

 

AH: I just want to be ready for when the time comes. 

 

SS: I love that, you're so ambitious in that way. She's prepped!

AH: I am. I'm prepped. And I'm always prepping.