Bobby Glatter is looking to build his resumé with the Ryerson Rams.

Felicia Nicholson

Bobby Glatter spends many Friday and Saturday nights at George Bell Arena with the Ryerson Rams men’s and women’s hockey teams. He’s not on the ice scoring goals, nor is he behind the bench calling the shots. But he’s always around, and is usually a large part of the action.

Behind the scenes of every Rams game, Glatter is cutting game footage and compiling statistics as the men’s team’s administrative assistant and the women’s general manager. It’s perhaps not the most glamorous work, but for someone whose dream is to work for a National Hockey League team, the job seems like a necessary learning experience.

“He’s young so I think it’s a whole learning process for Bobby and if he aspires to become a general manager then it’s a good stepping stone for him to see the operation of how a hockey program runs,” said Graham Wise, head coach of the Rams men’s hockey team.

Glatter, a 23-year-old from Toronto, always knew he wanted to work in the sports world, but until he was 17 or 18, he didn’t know to what extent. However, after completing a co-op placement with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, and the Toronto Raptors in Grade 12, he applied for the sports management program at Brock University in St. Catharines, and was admitted for the 2008 school year.

After completing his core courses last spring, he returned home to Toronto and enrolled as a part-time student at Ryerson to finish a few electives. He also discovered the potential opportunity to work for the Rams and continue building towards his goal of working in professional sports.

He noticed that the women’s hockey team was preparing for its inaugural season as a part of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). He thought there could be a position with the team considering he worked closely with the women’s team at Brock.

 “I figured that since they were such a new team they wouldn’t have a full staff ready,” Glatter said. “So I contacted Stephanie White (associate director of athletics at Ryerson) to see if they needed any help. It turned out that they did and that the men’s team wanted some help too.”

Since before the season began, he’s been working closely behind the scenes with both teams doing essentially whatever the coaches ask of him.

“I think it’s worked out extremely well for my team (having Bobby),” said Lisa Jordan, head coach of the women’s hockey team. “He’s shown great commitment to us and he’s made my job easier.”

Glatter said he’s loved the experience so far and hopes to return to the job next year, but he also admits working with two teams brings on a big workload.

“I commit a lot of my time to both of the teams,” he said. “I see them pretty much every day except for off days.”

But it’s a commitment he’s willing to make in pursuit of his dreams.