Over the years Macon sports have become a staple to the community. From Mercer athletics and high school teams to professional hockey and baseball leagues, residents have enjoyed the energy of local sports. 

Though the sports industry has primarily been dominated by men, Anna Marie Summers broke the glass by becoming the game manager of Macon’s local hockey team, the Mayhem. Sumers started working in sports in college with Mercer athletics where she ended up working full time her senior year managing the baseball team and worked in sponsorship sales. Summers ended up graduating in 2019 with degrees in sports marketing and HR management.

Though she entered the university as a nursing major and switched to the pre-law track with a major in history, Summers realized she needed to follow her heart instead of money. After a talk with her dad she knew her heart was in sports.

“I love supporting people and watching people be successful in their careers,” Summers said. “I took a big pay cut from a lawyer’s pay to the GM of a hockey team’s pay, but it’s okay, I’m doing what I love now.”

When she started with the Mayhem right after graduation, she started on the marketing team, but was abruptly promoted to the GM after the team let go of the previous manager. One of the most challenging parts of her job so far was digging the hockey team out of the hole that it was in when she stepped into her new position. 

“One of my biggest struggles was finding out what was created before I stepped in and what I was going to have to do to fix it,” Summers said. “This year we have spent a lot of time rebuilding.”

Through the challenges Summers said she has learned more than she has in her career. All the hard work seemed worth it after having a successful season.

“It was a lot of hard work and late nights at 3 a.m. coming back in the office at 9 a.m.,” Summers said. “It was a lot, but we made it. 

Throughout six years in sports she has faced adversity just like many women do in the industry. One of the first issues arose when there was a difference in opinions over her salary as the GM, but she said it was a misunderstanding and there are no hard feelings now. 

“I took it the wrong way,” Summers said. “SInce then we’ve worked things out and we’re good now.”

One of the more prominent problems arose this season when the Savannah hockey team, the Ghost Pirates, called up 19 of the Mayhem’s players. After trying to confront the GM, he started explaining to her how the callup system works in hockey.

“I finally had to tell him to stop,” Summers said. “I told him ‘you’ve called 19 of my players this year and 23 players have gone elsewhere that are not you which means I have experienced this many times. You don’t have to explain to me how this process goes, I know it very well at this point.’”

Due to experiences she has had over her time in the industry, Summers knows how to deal with sexism that occurs in sports.

“My biggest thing is just to walk with confidence and speak with confidence and then take control of the room that you’re in and that’s what I learn really quickly,” Summers said. “It’s just being confident in yourself and knowing that you deserve the job that you’re given and belong in the atmosphere you’re in.”

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