Co-op Confidential: Zachary Cintron

Name: Zachary Cintron

Year: Sophomore

Company: Philadelphia Soul 

Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

Position: Game Operations Intern

Who are the Philadelphia Soul? 

The Soul are the official Philadelphia Arena Football (AFL) team. The Soul were founded in 2004 by Craig A. Spencer and famous New Jersey rock star Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi gave up his share of the team and the owners are now Spencer and Ron Jaworski. In 2008 the Soul were Arena Bowl Champions, and are currently chasing the title again.

What are my responsibilities?

As a game operations intern my responsibilities are as my title reads. My team and I are set in place by the organization to operate the games, meaning everything from on field promotions, timing of all the games events, making sure the PA announcer is on time, and more. Before all of the actual game day festivities even begin I have to make sure all the promotions, event level signage, concourse level signage, and field signage is ready to be put in place on game day. I also help with various tasks within the sales, sponsorship, and public relations departments as well. 

Do I like it so far?

I love the industry I work in ,and who wouldn’t. Is it unpaid and long hours? Yes. Are a good amount of my weekends spent working for the team? Yes, but if you can’t commit to these kind of responsibilities then you need to find another industry to work in. With that comes a lot of great things that I benefit from. How many people get to interact with the Soul players, cheerleaders, and dance team on a daily basis? Not may people get to meet all the exciting people I get to meet. I also really enjoy the fact that I work in game operations, but also get to work alongside the other departments. I am getting experience in more than just my department. 

Downsides?

The only real downside is probably that it is unpaid, but to get into this industry you need to make connections and this is how it is done. Sometimes I will work 30+ hours and that would be a pretty nice paycheck, but you can’t do anything about that. The best thing to do is get a part time job somewhere else that understands you’re an intern elsewhere. 

What am I looking forward to in the future?

I’m excited to see how the season plays out and if we make the playoffs. It will be exciting to be in an organization in the playoffs, and when it is do or die time how everyone reacts. 

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Josh Backett
Lindrit Shkodra
Mark Gress
Aaron Coleman
Kevin Rossi
Kevin Murray
Ryan Pratt
Mike Proska

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Zachary Cintron is a sophomore in Drexel's Sport Management program with a minor in Music Theory and Composition.  Zach also writes for his personal blog, Sports and Music Weekly. You can follow Zach on Twitter at @cintronz.

Connect with Zachary Cintron on LinkedIn.