Three Take-Aways From My Experience as a Wi-Fi Coach

Authored by: Matthew Webb, Wi-Fi Coach & WTAMU Student

As you can imagine, there are several lessons that you will take away as a result of participating in the construction of the network as well as the promotion of that same network. I was lucky enough to learn a lot and appreciate my experiences this past year as a Wi-Fi Coach at WTAMU’s new Buffalo Stadium.

Here are three lessons I learned over the last year.

Lesson #1 – Patience is a Virtue as are Soft Skills

As students, being a part of one of the first in the country to deploy a world-class implementation of Wi-Fi 6 was incredible! There was an active, hands-on approach to students engaging with fans by learning crucial soft skills and ways to educate those with questions.

Learning how to explain the technology into easy to understand, layman’s terminology as well as how the network functions on both a macro and micro level gave myself and fellow student Wi-Fi Coaches a unique understanding that will serve beyond our time on campus.

Lesson #2 – User Feedback is Key

Deploying a network for large attendances gave us the opportunity to coordinate with network staff and troubleshoot problems in real-time - a skill crucial to any individual in a STEM-related field.

As we engaged with fans and data was collected, the optimization of the stadium Wi-Fi experience improved greatly. Feedback from fans passed onto students helped shape standard operating procedures and define what types of services to allow or deny.

Lesson #3 – There Will Always Be Demand

Wi-Fi Coaches that engaged with the stadium network were left with an experience truly unique to WTAMU students. After analyzing the network for a season, we were able to understand that users – students and fans – will only continue to demand more in capacity and bandwidth, not only in the stadium, but across almost all aspects of campus, including classrooms, dorms, arenas, and other areas.

I’m so grateful for this past season as a Wi-Fi Coach and the real-life experiences and future career lessons WTAMU and Extreme enabled me to take away. I’m excited to see what I will take away from my next adventure as a Wi-Fi Coach at Super Bowl LIV.