Brock Maschmeyer has experienced collegiate sports and contributed to the Northern Michigan University athletic department on multiple platforms.
As NMU’s blue-line anchor, and the only senior defenseman on the team, he tallied a position-leading five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 2016-17. But his work for the Wildcats outside of hockey has drawn attention for its uniqueness.
After taking a public relations course as a freshman, and watching what happened around the game, Maschmeyer took an immediate interest in sports information. He decided to build on what he had learned by working as a student-assistant in SID Jen Dobias’ office.
Dobias is the only full-time employee in her department, which covers 16 teams. For his part, Maschmeyer has filled in as needed and as available for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse.
“Going to my PR classes, I loved the professors,” Maschmeyer told Pucks and Recreation. “They really showed me what it was all about.”
Maschmeyer enjoys a challenge. As such, he finds that writing about teams which haven’t been winning as one of the more fun parts of his responsibilities. Of the three teams assigned to him this year, only women’s hoops has held a winning record.
“Writing about a team that is winning is easy,” he said. “The big challenge, and fun thing, is writing about a team that is on a negative streak. Aside from that, writing on the sideline surrounded by fans is great.”
Taking into account what he enjoys most about his internship, it should be no surprise that one of his favorite moments covering sports came during a loss.
“It was a men’s basketball game, a really tight one, you know, point for point,” remembered Maschmeyer. “I think we lost, but it was one of those half-court shot games that can go either way.”
Those working in sports information get to view each game up close and personal. This was a revelation to Maschmeyer, as he had always been on the ice and never thought much of who was watching.
“You go to the game, you’re right on the sideline with the coach next to you screaming,” he said. “It’s cool to see from a new perspective.”
In February, Maschmeyer had the opportunity to take over the hockey team’s Instagram account for a day. For someone who enjoys PR like he does, this was an opportunity to let his imagination run wild.
“It was a lot of fun, finding new ways to promote the team,” he said. “I was making the other players do weird things, which they liked afterwards, but getting them to open up was great.”
Hailing from a Northern Alberta town of barely 1,300 people, Maschmeyer is a member of a royal athletic family to his locals. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)
Being an athlete himself, Maschmeyer had a different perspective on sports information than a normal PR intern. With that said, being a part of the media is still new to him.
“It’s really nice, seeing behind scenes, and how it comes together,” responded Maschmeyer. “Jen helped during the internship, before games start.”
The amount of work it takes to be an SID certainly surprised Maschmeyer, who referenced time management as one of the skills needed to be successful in that field.
One month away from his commencement and a degree in public relations, Maschmeyer does not know what he will do if professional hockey does not work out for him. But he has not ruled out foraying into sports information.
“I like creating campaigns for companies,” he said, “but this is also an interest.”
Wherever he takes his talents, he will bring a wealth of experience and a long family history of service. Maschmeyer’s family is very well known in his hometown of Bruderheim, Alta. His grandmother, Karol Maschmeyer, recently had the local arena named after her last summer.
Karol, who died in December of 2015, was one of the founding members of the arena, and was heavily involved in community affairs. As Lindsay Morey of the Fort Saskatchewan Record noted at the time of the renaming ceremony, “The family-orientated woman also established the Bruderheim Light Horse 4H Club, set up the Canadian Buckskin Association, chaired the Bruderheim Tourism Committee, developed Bruderheim’s campground, and designed the prototype of the town’s flag.”
Brock Maschmeyer spoke passionately about his grandmother’s impact on the community and the family itself. “There was nobody better,” he stated. “She put in the time, went to every meeting. I didn’t notice how involved she was until after she passed.”
In addition to being heavily involved in the community, Karol Maschmeyer always made sure that she made the time to make it to each of her grandchildren’s hockey games or other special events. Eight of those grandchildren have played either junior or collegiate hockey in North America. Of particular note, Brock’s sister, Emerance, is a Harvard graduate and now plays goalie for the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL.
“She was always the rock,” Brock said of Karol. “If we had a game, they (his grandparents) would be at it. There are 13 of us, so they’d drive back and forth to the different places.”
Different places may lie ahead for him in the near future, but as a Senior CLASS Award candidate, Maschmeyer has already made his mark in two.
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