GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Matt Kalish is a 2001 Pepperdine alumnus who found his way back to the university as the Coordinator for Intramurals and Club Sports. Since his sophomore year at Pepperdine, he’s been involved with campus recreation. Since then, he has overseen a dramatic change in the intramurals office, adding sports and tournaments to help serve the students. He’s also been a part of the success of Pepperdine club sports over the past few years.
How did you get into working with club and intramural sports?
I got into lifeguarding. I took a (water safety instruction) class with Jo Kite and started lifeguarding. I had some concerns with how the pool was being run, and Jo actually encouraged me to do some research on risk management and safety issues, things like that.
So after getting on the ball with that sort of thing, I wrote a work-in-progress weight center manual when I was a student here.
I researched with a lot of different schools and I ended up writing it up. It was OK, it could be a lot better, but it was good. Then, I finished school and went to work for Prudential doing financial planning and hated that. I hated being in the corporate world. I hated having the constant pressure of making money and all that kind of stuff.
There was one time I sold a life insurance policy to a buddy of mine and he requested a very specific amount, couldn’t afford any more than that. So I went back to my office and the manager ripped me, saying ‘You needed to sell more.’ And at that time, I just went ‘You know what, I’m done.’ This is not something that’s for me, this is not my nature. If I’m trying to sit here living a Christian life, this is not how it’s going to happen.
So I came back, when they were building the Comm Building, I worked as a temp, just kind of helping out. Then, the gentleman who had this job before me, his name was Curtis, he left and I came to fill in and I did it, and then I applied for the job and I got it. So that’s been the last three-and-a-half years.
What is the best and the worst thing about your job?
I think the best thing is just working with students. I love seeing a student get really excited about what they’re doing. Even the people who get what you would call too excited, into it a little too much, I love that. I love seeing the students having an opportunity to express something that they care about.
If they love soccer, if they love volleyball, even the little things we’re doing, like next Wednesday, we’re doing wiffleball. People who love playground games, like the dodgeball stuff that we’ve done. I just love seeing the students enjoy what they do and I also love working with students.
My wife’s a third grade teacher and I’m like, ‘I could never work with yours and you can never work with mine.’ It’s just really fun. It keeps me going. It keeps me young, not that I’m old. It keeps me young in terms of just hanging around students and having that environment and hopefully having some good impact.
The worst part I have to deal with is probably when things go bad. If there’s an injury, if there’s a fight, when what’s supposed to be a fun recreational activity turns into something negative. We try to keep everything positive, that’s how we want it. But there’s going to be injuries, there’s going to be things happen. That’s the part of my job that I don’t like. I don’t mind dealing with that stuff, but I wish it didn’t happen.
I wish there were no injuries, no disagreements, no ‘but the ref’ I wish there was none of that, but it’s part of the job and I have to take the amazing positives with the few negatives that go with it.
How do you think our club sports stack up to our NCAA sports?
I think they stack up pretty darn well. I think, considering the resources they have, lack of field space, lack of facilities, we definitely have field space and facilities and we’re thankful for that but considering some of the schools they’re playing against have all-weather turf fields that they get to practice on multiple days a week and then our teams, they have a great place in Alumni Park and the upper field, I don’t think they’re complaining too much about that.
I know they complain a little bit and that’s OK. So, I think that considering what they have, they have a drive and a desire to be the best and I’m stoked for them.
I mean, men’s lacrosse, even though they’ve struggled a little bit this year, they’re showing their worth. They’re showing their quality in terms of how they’re playing. Women’s lacrosse has done very well in the few years, growing the program from a few girls who love the sport into a true standard of what the university stands for. And then rugby this year, they’re just blowing us all away.
What types of things are you guys working on for this semester?
Beach volleyball is one of things we’re trying to get off the ground. That’s one of the things students care about and we’re trying to make that happen. Also, we’re working on more of the one-day tournament type of events like next Wednesday’s wiffleball tournament.
One thing I we’ve been working on for a while is softball. That’s one of the biggest requests we get and also one of the hardest sports to put on. But we’re trying to get that going on some time soon.
One thing that’s different this year is how the officiating is done in intramural basketball, what are you guys trying to do with that?
That’s something we’ve been working on a lot this year, officiating. We’ve done a lot of training for the officials during practice games and held clinics on the weekends. We’ve also spent some money to make them look better. We got them actual referee jerseys instead of the little pennies they used to wear.
02-16-2006