Sudbury woman scores job with the Toronto Raptors
CBC
Gabrielle Schwabe, daughter of CBC host Markus Schwabe, landed her "dream job" when she was invited to join the staff of NBA team the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2022.
Now, at 24, Schwabe becomes one of just three women employed in team operations-equipment in the NBA.
Her job is to ensure the players and coaches have everything they need to be successful, from headbands to basketball shoes. She also runs the clock during the team's practices.
Schwabe, a graduate of Laurentian University's Sports Administration (SPAD) program, travels with the team, hauling the uniforms and gear which she lays out in the locker rooms on the road.
"It's always been a dream of mine to work for the Toronto Raptors, but it's more of one of those dreams that you don't actually think is ever going to come true," Schwabe said.
"Honestly, every day I still pinch myself," she said. "When we get on a plane, I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, what am I doing? We're flying like, on this crazy plane. And here's little old me traveling with an NBA team to another city."
Schwabe said she grew up a Raptors fan, devoutly watching players like José Calderón and Andrea Bargnani on television, including their epic 2019 playoff run and eventual championship.
After spending a year as Canada Basketball's coordinator of women's basketball operations, Schwabe threw her hat into the ring when a position opened up with Major League Sports Entertainment (MLSE), the company that owns both the Raptors and the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.
She didn't expect to land the job, but after several zoom calls and in-person meetings with Raptors executives, Schwabe received a fateful phone call from the team's vice president of operations.
"The way she started the call off, I kind of thought she was letting me down because she was thanking me for all the time and for being patient," Schwabe said. "So my heart kind of sunk…Then she said 'we would love to have you on board."
"Everything from that point on was just a blur," she said. "Just a blur of emotion."
Schwabe had two weeks to pack her bags and make it to Los Angeles to join the team as they readied for the 2022/23 season. There, she said, walking among athletes she had watched on the screen, she became a little star struck.
"These are the people that you've been idolizing the past 15 years of your life and you're in a room with them," she said. "You're impacting their lives and what they do."
"It was just a lot. It's crazy."
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