When families and friends come down to watch the Harwich Mariners play ball, most people are watching the team play. Before the first pitch is thrown, there is another team behind the on-field team, getting ready for the game. This hidden team is the Harwich Mariners interns.

Interns from across the world have traveled to Cape Cod for the summer, bringing diverse talents and experiences. The Harwich Mariners have been more than just an internship to many; it's a foot in the door for a career down the road, offering insight into how their future could unfold.

There are four groups of interns: media, game day, operations, and scouting interns. Whether there's talk from the broadcaster station, capturing pictures, or evaluating the players, each role plays a significant part in making the Harwich Mariners team successful.

Making the Game Real

The media team brings the game to life for the crowd. The roles on the media team include broadcast, sideline, producer, photography, camera operations, beat writer, social media, graphic design, and the glue that holds this team together, the creative director, Anders Saling.

Behind every photograph, article, and social media post is the work of the media team. On Instagram and Twitter, once something is released, whether it is a post or a story, the fans see the finished product, while the team is working on each product, making sure that each product aligns perfectly and will please the fans.

Luke Brennaman and Milo Hoffman are the broadcasters this season, and they have a personal reason as to why they chose to spend their summer on Cape Cod, taking as much as they can practice and perfecting broadcasting.

“The experience here, along with a place like the Cape and the talent here, is second to none. I wouldn’t trade these last two summers for anything…all of the people that help out besides us on the air, everyone else works harder to make us sound good, Milo and I are grateful for that,” Brennaman said.

The Fan Experience Comes to Life

As the players practice for the games, the game day interns are already setting up for the fans. Each of the game day interns is here for different reasons, but shares the same goal: learning the operations that make a baseball game successful. This role offers interacting with fans, handling the merchandise booth, setting up for the games, and promoting the Harwich Mariners.

Jacob Hamilton wants to work in the sports supply chain in the future and believes the Harwich Mariners would be a good stepping stone for him to gain hands-on experience. The roles of the game-day interns may change from day to day, but without them, a game day wouldn’t succeed.

Hamilton said, “Once I found out there was an open operations role with the team, I decided to jump on it because I want to do something like this for a football, baseball, or hockey team. I’d never been to the Cape before, so I thought it’d be a cool experience—and I was right. It’s been a great experience, and I’ve had a great time so far.”

Maintaining the Team's Performance

The important work that is usually overlooked comes down to the coaches' intern and the physical therapy intern. Nate Dunn, the coaches’ intern, helps out with the day-to-day responsibilities that keep the practices efficient. Madison Ouellette, the athletic training intern, learning from Amanda, keeps the players supported and ensures they are ready before and after the games.

Their roles are needed long before the game starts, while there are 29 active players to keep track of, and continue after the game has ended as well. Nate has been learning the ropes to manage the team under Coach Steve Englert.

“With this internship, it has been helping me get my foot in the door in the sports industry. I am working with the players every day, and it’s been the coolest job I could’ve had this summer.”

Finding Talent

The fans in the stands are focused on the game; there are people under the deck, watching every player, watching their movements, seeing what skills they possess. For Owen Murphy, this internship has shown him it isn’t about the statistics; rather, it's about identifying pure talent these players show. Murphy watches the scouts and learns how they evaluate each player for talent.

“Scouting isn’t just about whether a player is good or bad. It’s about the little things between every play—footwork, fundamentals, whether a teammate is a good person—and projecting what a player could become in the future.”

Future Summers

The creative director is Anders Saling; the Harwich Mariners have been extremely fortunate to have him for his fifth consecutive year. Sailing is the glue that keeps each intern group together. He continually floats among the interns throughout the game to ensure that all tasks are being completed and that each intern is comfortable in their role. Whilst juggling his responsibilities, he is still able to shoot some amazing action pictures of the game.

Anders Saling is the unsung hero of our hidden team. Speaking with Anders, he expressed his objective for the interns this season, “We're able to pull together so many different avenues of creativity to create a single product that goes out for everyone to see. And I think the biggest, you know, kind of goal is to make sure that everyone's able to experience the Harwich Mariners wherever they're at in the world.”