At every home game, the Green Team mixes it up by choosing from more than 300 skits it has practiced and learned.
Credit: Michael Cooper
Credit: Michael Cooper
“We are making sure from game start to game end that everybody’s entertained no matter their age or if they know anything about baseball or not,” said Entertainment Manager Jamie Connor, who has been a part of the Green Team since the 2018 season.
“Our job is truly to make peoples’ day and leave them with the most memorable experience here,” said Kassidy Muntz, who is celebrating 13 seasons with the Green Team this year. “We have no idea what’s going on with everyone in their... personal lives, but for the hours that they are here at this ballpark we hope that they feel seen and loved.”
What a typical game day looks like
The Green Team consists of about 30 members with at least 10 people on the schedule at each home game.
“Most games start at 7 p.m.,” Connor said. “In that case, we show up at 5 p.m. and we go over the game log for the night.”
Once everyone is given their assignments, they begin rehearsals. From practicing the dance they are doing that night to pulling props and placing them throughout the ballpark, the first hour is essential in having a successful night.
When gates open at 6 p.m., the Green Team is on the plaza doing activities for kids such as balloon animals, hairspray and glitter or air brushed tattoos.
“We really do try to go above and beyond with that customer service because a lot of times we may be the first face that they see when they’re walking onto the plaza,” Muntz said.
Credit: Michael Cooper
Credit: Michael Cooper
“We’re basically greeting everybody as they walk in,” Connor said. “That’s when we’re choosing our contestants for the night.”
Every skit they do during the game is different and requires people of different ages with certain characteristics. For example, they might need a man between ages 40 and 50 wearing tennis shoes.
“For any skit we want it to be someone who’s fun and energetic and willing to help,” Connor said. “We don’t ever want to pick someone whose friend had to force them to do it.”
Once the game starts, the Green Team is coordinating something to happen every three outs. It could be anything from mascots dancing to T-shirt tosses, skits on the field or videos playing on the big screen.
“Everything is just dependent on how fast the game is going,” Connor said. “It’s a lot of running back and forth across the stadium over and over and over again, but it’s very fun.”
When the game ends, the Green Team is typically at the exits saying goodbye to the fans.
“We’re really big on making sure that literally from the time gates open to the time people leave it’s an amazing experience,” Connor said.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Creating fan-favorite skits
When asked how the Green Team comes up with new skits, Connor said they compile a list of “challenges” they see on social media throughout the year and before the season starts she and her two department supervisors take the time to go through those ideas and figure out which ones they can pull off.
For example, last year they introduced a new skit called, “Bottoms Up,” where three people are on the field and two have a cup of Pepsi to drink, while the other has soy sauce.
“We get to be very creative and have a really fun day of brainstorming goofy stuff to do,” Connor said.
Her team looks for games to play on the field that are colorful, fun and easy to get fans involved.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Crowd favorites over the years include:
- Toddler Race (three children, just starting to walk, race each other)
- Go Bananas (three people race around the outfield in banana costumes)
- Cape Crusade (two kids dressed as superheroes complete an obstacle course down the baseline)
“There’s so much that goes into one skit,” Connor said.
The Green Team has 90 seconds between innings to get participants on the field, set the game up, play it, clean it up and get off the field.
“We’re putting on a live show every night and because it’s live, things can go wrong,” Connor said. “We have to be on top of our game.”
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Practice makes perfect
The Green Team starts practicing for the season in January with rehearsals on weeknights and weekends.
“There’s a ton of different rehearsals that we schedule throughout that time just to make sure everyone’s trained and ready to go for the season because you can’t just be thrown into this,” Connor said.
For those that are new to the Green Team, they start off by shadowing a longtime team member before working a game together and then doing it on their own.
“Until they start working a game, they don’t really understand how quick three outs can go and how fast you have to run from one place to another and be ready for the next thing,” Connor said.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
“Our team works so incredibly hard from our directors to everyone on board, all of our leaders,” Muntz said. “I don’t think people would believe everything that goes on behind the scenes because not only are we communicating as our Green Team, but we’re communicating with our director upstairs who is communicating with click, with our sound, with our graphics, with our PA...”
This year, the Green Team has nearly 30 new skits.
Heather Coffey, a member of the Green Team since 2020, said her favorite practice is when they get to try the new skits out.
“We have a new skit rehearsal where we get to try out all of the new skits and kind of work out the bugs of what works, what doesn’t work,” Coffey said. “There have been plenty of times where it doesn’t work or we try it and end up doing it a completely different way.”
During this practice, they time everything out and make sure they can complete the new skit in less than 90 seconds.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
The people are the heart of the ballpark
“From a Green Team perspective, my favorite part of just being on the team is the people,” Connor said. “We pick phenomenal people on this team.”
Connor, who grew up in Lebanon, remembers coming to Dragons games as a kid and wanting to be on the Green Team. She moved to the Dayton region when she was studying at Wright State University and applied as soon as she saw they were holding auditions.
“For a lot of people growing up coming to Dragons games or just going in general is like a really fond memory to them,” Connor said. “Knowing that we are a part of that is really special.”
Coffey, who is a preschool teacher for Northmont City Schools, joined the Green Team when she found out a coworker was on the team.
Her favorite part of being on the team is the people they get to meet.
“Not only is it people from Dayton coming to see us, it’s people from all over Ohio. People from other states,” Coffey said. “We get to hear about peoples’ stories.”
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Both team members talked about Madison Taylor, who has been a part of the Green Team for 19 seasons, being their idol as they were growing up watching the Green Team.
Taylor, who has worked in radio for 30 years, applied to be a part of the Green Team because one of her best friends was a PA announcer at the ballpark.
“I came, auditioned and the rest is history,” Taylor said. “It was something different that I had never done before. Been in radio, but never in front of people, so I thought it would be exciting.”
Her favorite part is getting to connect with the kids. For example, she hosts junior PA where a child gets to announce a Dragons player coming up to bat.
“Being able to teach them how to say, ”Now batting for the Dayton Dragons,” and to just think, “Oh my gosh they come back years later and remember who they said,” — that’s my favorite thing that I do here.”
She described Day Air Ballpark as her “happy place.”
Life changing experiences
“We just want people to love it here as much as we do,” Muntz said.
Muntz, who grew up in Huber Heights, joined the Green Team because her roommate her freshman year of college at Wright State University was on the Green Team and was raving about it.
“It was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Muntz said. “This job means the world.”
The Green Team has brought her out of her “comfort zone.” Prior to joining, she described herself as being more reserved.
The Green Team looks for people every year that are reliable, flexible, outgoing, energetic and a team player. Auditions for the 2026 season will be in the fall.
“It’s bigger than baseball,” Muntz said. “The people we meet, the interactions we have, it is so cool to be able to connect with people in the way we do.”
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