Any American can relate to the thrill of attending a professional baseball game. However, as a member of the Detroit Tigers’ Energy Squad, Katie Wopinsky can relate more than most.
“(The squad members) are the most intelligent group of women I’ve ever met. Most of us are friends for life. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.
Wopinsky earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from Oakland University, and she began working as an administrative assistant at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center in January 2014. She was drawn to the position because she was able to work closely with a cardiac surgeon highly involved in research, which satisfied her scientific curiosity. She was promoted to her most recent position as the CVC research recruitment coordinator in July 2015.
Her current duties include collaborating with principal investigative researchers and other research coordinators at the CVC to recruit healthy volunteers and patients for research projects. She also contacts potential volunteers, pre-screens them, and maintains a database of all participants and those interested in participating. Her favorite part of the job is seeing how healthy volunteers blindly reach out to see how they can help.
“I think it says a lot about somebody as a healthy person to reach out and be willing to undergo a drug, or a device, or any kind of testing for the sake of the betterment of health care. It’s wonderful,” she said.
Wopinsky found out about the Energy Squad through one of her childhood friends, who had joined a few years earlier. After Wopinsky spoke with her about the opportunity, she was convinced to give it a try. Not telling anyone about the tryouts in case she didn’t make the cut, she went to the open auditions in the Hockeytown Cafe and got the position, beginning her journey with the Detroit Tigers.
As the name suggests, it’s her job to energize the fans. That means leading the seventh-inning stretch, promoting the stadium and team’s sponsors, and really anything else to make the game better for spectators. She is the unofficial liaison between the players and the fans, and she loves being a part of their experience.
“In reality, most fans are not going to get to meet the players. So to get to be that extension, to give them one of our giveaways or take a picture with them, is really, really awesome,” she said.
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Besides working home games, squad members work at various other events throughout the year, like going with players to local Detroit schools and cheering on kids playing baseball with the Miracle League of Michigan, an organization that gives children with cognitive or physical disabilities the chance to play baseball on a specially adapted field. She also enjoyed working Opening Day all four years and being able to experience the excitement and energy from both the players and the fans.
However, what really inspires her is the squad’s motto that “every game is someone’s first.” Whether that’s young children with their families or opposing fans visiting Detroit for the first time, that means that she has to give it her all every time she walks on the field. It helps put the commitment in perspective and makes it all worthwhile, she said.
This last summer was her self-imposed final year on the squad. She will finish her Master of Science degree in administration this May, so she feels it is a natural ending point for her Energy Squad career. However, she says it was a great life experience and she has made fantastic friends along the way.
“I just feel like it’s a good time to hang up the knee socks,” she jokes.
