Erin Rezmer is an Agility League competitor who fills a special role for her teams – Spirit Captain. You may have seen her posts on the League Facebook Group of the wonderful theme nights that she creates for her teams at For Your K9 in Illinois.
The school came up with the idea of a Spirit Captain to help team members get to know each other and foster a sense of fun and camaraderie. Favorites include Oscar Red Carpet Night for Awards Day and Olympics Opening Ceremony for first day of League season. Erin and her husband, Tom, also run their Boxers in League. She tells us more about her good work!
Name: Erin Rezmer
Facility/school: For Your K9
City/State: Elmhurst, IL
Teams/divisions: We have 5 teams participating in League this season. We have 2 Senior, 1 Sophomore, and 2 Freshman teams in the Limited division.
Your League dogs or dog and name/breed: I compete with my 8-year-old Boxer, Vixen, at the Senior level. My husband, Tom Rezmer, competes with our 4-year-old Boxer, Crimson at the Sophomore level.
How long has For Your K9 been involved in the AKC Agility League and what motivated them to join the program? We started participating in League in 2022. It was the idea of one of our instructors to form teams to participate. We all thought it was a great idea. We initially joined to provide extra “practice” in a trial-like setting for both new teams and experienced teams.
What were the thoughts behind having a “spirit captain” and how were you named to the position? We run league on Friday nights and at the end of a work week and at night, we are all tired. We realized that there wasn’t much fun happening. While we all train at For Your K9, many of us didn’t know each other since we aren’t in class together. I brought it up to other participants, and our league coordinator at the time agreed that we needed to start having fun. I was asked and agreed to be the Spirit Captain.
Tell us how you come up with some of the many super ideas that you have for theme nights and describe some of your favorites? For us, having fun is important but so is building our local agility community. We couldn’t do that if we didn’t know each other. As with all dog sports, we learn the dog’s names before learning the handler’s name. Because many of us didn’t know each other, our first season of league was all about getting to know each other. I created different fun activities and themes to get to know each other. These included giving every handler a sheet of printed name labels. Before the night was over, they had to put the correct name label on the correct handler.
Another time, I gave handlers a heart sticker to wear. The league participants had to write the name of five handlers wearing a heart sticker and each handler’s dog’s name on a sticky note that was then put on display.
I come up with different themes for each night we run based on the time of year, a holiday, etc. The first night of league, we have our “Opening Ceremony” like they do in the Olympics. I print a sign with each team’s name and play the Olympic theme, and the teams march through the agility area. I play music while the teams walk the courses that are related to the theme. For example, during the “Get to Know You” theme, I played songs such as “Getting to Know You” from the musical The King and I and “Who are the People in Your Neighborhood” from Sesame Street.
Other themes have included Be Kind or Reflect Happiness; handlers wore something that represented kindness or made them smile or happy. We had a Winter theme; handlers wore winter accessories, such as gloves, scarves, and hats.
My favorite has been our Love themes. Songs with the word Love were played while handlers walked but before each competitor ran, the handler had to tell their dog they they loved him/her. Since AKC calculates awards for the previous season, in March we had our own “Oscar” night when we gave out the AKC League awards and the handler had to give an acceptance speech as if it were an Oscar they won. The last night of league, we each bring a dish to share and celebrate the end of that season.
How do you see that League has helped/improved the handlers on your teams? I asked our participants why they joined League. Several said it was to have an opportunity to practice, get to know each other, and gain more confidence to enter trials. Because of League, they have met and made new friends; they feel supported and can ask for pointers in class, at League and at trials.
Why is the camaraderie aspect so important? When joining any sport, there are people who have known each other for years. It is hard to be the new person when you don’t know people. It can be intimidating. It is also a challenge when you don’t know what you don’t know about how things run. It’s nice to see a familiar, friendly face to answer your questions. If you’re an experienced handler, it’s also nice to know someone is there supporting and cheering you on.
Anything else you want to add? I think agility trainers should encourage their students to participate in League. It can be a fun time and helps to expose new teams to the sport in a trial-like atmosphere. For the experienced teams, it is great for new teams to see you run and be able to ask you questions. Sharing your knowledge will help to grow the sport in your community.