Unlike the majority of Californians that take advantage of summer heat and head to the beach or drive up and down the coast, senior Henry Wayne spent his summer in the locker room and on the field with the Los Angeles Rams. Serving as a member of the equipment team, Wayne dedicated his summer to helping the Rams’ staff.
A typical day for Wayne consisted of helping out on the field during drills at both the walk through and regular practices, doing laundry for the players and coaches and preparing the locker room for the team.
Wayne said, “I worked during their [Rams’] training camp at the University of California, Irvine, and I have continued to work for them at their home games during the preseason and the regular season.”
Wayne’s favorite part about the hands-on job is helping with field drills. He said, “My favorite part of the practices was when I was able to catch field goals and punts from Greg Zuerlein and Johnny Hekker. I loved getting to meet some of the players and they were all great guys. I made a few lucky catches and some of the players started calling me ‘hands.’”
Explaining how he earned his position with the team, Wayne said, “My grandfather personally knew someone affiliated with the team, and he helped me land a job that initially had me working for three days at the team’s training camp. I wanted to keep working so I worked as hard as I could and every chance I got, I asked for more work. As a result, I was able to work the rest of the training camp and for a few games on the sidelines.”
Wayne’s motivation to get involved with the Rams sprouted from his interest in sports. “I have always loved playing sports and have been a sports fanatic all my life,” said Wayne. “When I grow up, I want to have some sort of job in the sports world, and I felt that this would be a great experience for me.”
With school back in session, Wayne has been forced to make sacrifices in order to manage his commitment to both his academics and the Rams. “I worked all day during the training camp over the summer, but with school starting I am now only able to work [with the Rams]during the weekend of a home game,” said Wayne.
Despite his time-consuming commitments, Wayne is able to manage a tight schedule by applying lessons learned throughout his years at Loyola. He said, “Loyola has taught me to work hard and know how to manage my time well. Working for the Rams, I had a lot of duties over the course of the day and was able to complete them thanks to the discipline I have learned from being at Loyola.”
Because of his interactions with players and involvement in the team, Wayne said, “I would love to continue my work for the Rams next summer because it has been a great experience.”
