Zaakir Khan interned with Old Glory DC on their playoff run

sbrown79 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:56:01 +0000

Zaakir Khan interned with Old Glory DC on their playoff run sbrown79 Mon, 08/17/2026 - 11:56

As a defenseman on 911��’s ice hockey team, rising senior Zaakir Khan knows a thing or two about team sports. But for a recent internship, he stepped off the ice—and out of his comfort zone.

“I've never watched rugby in my entire life, but I just went in determined to learn and figure it out,” said Khan, who spent the summer as an intern for Major League Rugby (MLR) team Old Glory DC, assisting the team as they made their way to the playoffs.

Khan, who is majoring in computational and data sciences in the College of Science, learned how a professional sports organization works, attending the team’s training camps and practices, observing and organizing drills, filming and cutting clips, and breaking down analytics.

Zaakir Khan (right) with an Old Glory Rugby colleague. Photo provided.

“They introduced me to the app, Huddle Sports Code, so I would film parts of the practice, cut clips, and then organize them for the players and coaches to see where they’re succeeding and what they could work on in the future,” Khan said.

The team practiced twice a day, often on 911��’s Fairfax Campus, and was split into two groups: the forwards and the backs.

“The coaches asked me to keep track of game scores and drop balls. I was also able to fly a drone, which was awesome and gave us a nice bird's eye view of the field,” said Khan. “It was a really cool progression from just observing to reporting the whole practice on my own.”

During actual games, there was a bit more pressure.

“I helped set up a computer for our medical tent to re-watch any concussions that potentially happened,” said Khan. “The cameras covered different angles so if any MLR players are injured with a concussion, for example, they go straight to the tent, and medical personnel look on the computer and review the hit to see how egregious it was.”

But Khan’s favorite spot, by far, was the coach’s box. "It was super unbelievable being in that environment and helping to live code the game.” Live coding, Khan explained, involved creating a real-time Excel sheet with all the relevant game statistics.

“Statistics tell a story and the coaches needed those stats—penalties, drops, turnovers—on the fly. With live coding, I was able to get that information to them as quickly as possible,” Khan said. “The sooner you can get this information, the better, but it also has to be accurate because those numbers turned into halftime stats and game reports."

Khan uses the app, Huddle Sports Code, for his internship with Old Glory Rugby. Photo provided.

He credits Craig Esherick, his SPMT 201 Introduction to Sports Management professor with helping him get the internship.

“Professor Esherick was kind enough to help me get my foot into the door,” said Khan, who is working on a minor in sports management. “I got a meeting with the head of the team’s sports analytics department who invited me on for the season.”

“I was very impressed with how quickly Zaakir learned about rugby and the league. It was a lot to learn in a short amount of time,” said Esherick, a professor and the chair of the Sport Management Program in 911��’s College of Education and Human Development. “He developed great relationships with the players and the staff with Old Glory and became an important part of their team this season.”

Although Old Glory’s season ended at the playoffs, Khan didn’t let that stop his momentum. He is currently a data science intern at Peraton, a national security and technology company.

“I’m learning how data, data quality, and data hygiene work. I’m hoping to use this knowledge and transition it into sports analytics after I graduate. I’d say both internships as well as 911�� have really prepared me for that,” Khan said.

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Recent Mason grad helps the Nationals baseball team stay in play during the pandemic

ckearney — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 14:00:33 +0000

Recent Mason grad helps the Nationals baseball team stay in play during the pandemic ckearney Tue, 10/05/2021 - 10:00

Hunter Kelly. Photo provided

When Hunter Kelly came to 911��, he knew right away that he wanted to go into the sport management program in the College of Education and Human Development. Little did he know that by the time he was in his senior year, he would be helping the Washington Nationals with their COVID-19 protocols to keep players and staff as safe as possible.

During Kelly’s final semester at Mason last spring, he took a 12-credit internship at the Nationals, which he said led to many long but productive days through spring training and beyond, screening individuals for COVID-19 symptoms, helping establish COVID-19 safety protocols, and assisting with contact tracing for all home and away games that even required him to travel with the team.

“It was a rewarding experience to keep a team healthy,” said Kelly, 22, who has been hired as the Nationals’ assistant clubhouse manager. “I felt really involved and like my role was important to keeping the team going.”

The Nationals managed to play out the season during the pandemic, despite one major COVID outbreak right after spring training.

“That outbreak made me a little nervous at first, and it made me realize that with COVID, you can do everything right, but it will still find a way to affect you,” said Kelly. “Things are much better now with 85% of our players and staff vaccinated, but we still need to be very careful.”

Kelly is no stranger to professional sports. His father has held a variety of jobs within the National Football League, so Kelly grew up moving around a bit as his father found employment within various teams.

Kelly played baseball and football in high school. He knew he didn’t have the skills to grow as a player, but also knew he loved being in the professional sports environment. So the Ashburn, Virginia, resident looked for a college where he could pursue his interest in sport management.

Kelly said that Mason was the best choice for him because of its reputation in the field and because of its location close to Washington, D.C., and major sports teams.

“I knew that at Mason I would have the best opportunities to excel in what I wanted to do with my life,” said Kelly.

Throughout his years at Mason, Kelly worked part-time at the Washington Football Team and the Nationals.

“Hunter Kelly took full advantage of the university’s proximity to major professional sports franchises,” said Craig Esherick, associate director of the Center for Sport Management and academic program coordinator for sport management. “He’s mature beyond his years. Hunter has developed the ability to communicate and work with literally everyone in the organizations in which he worked, which is a rare quality to find in someone so young.”

Kelly said he was thrilled when he was hired full-time by the Nationals and described it as a dream come true.

“I worked my whole life to get to this point,” said Kelly. “I love going in to work every day. There’s always something new.”

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Zaakir Khan interned with Old Glory DC on their playoff run

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