For Angie Blaker, head of player operations and team baker, the Loons have become family

Angie Blaker grew up playing soccer and thought watching the Minnesota Thunder play at the National Sports Center in Blaine was “the coolest thing ever.”

She was so nervous when she scored an interview for an internship with the Thunder, she didn’t even tell her parents.

Blaker got the internship that came with a $250 monthly stipend, but it led to a job with the Thunder and on to others. She worked for the Stars and then moved to the Minnesota United.

Now, 19 years into her career, Blaker is head of player care and operations for the United.

She still goes back to her internship as the foundation of that career.

“I went full on,” Blaker said. “I was doing 80-plus hours a week, doing anything I could to learn everything.”

Blaker’s official responsibilities with the United include booking every flight, hotel stay and bus ride for the Major League Soccer club.

Blaker goes out of her way to do extra things that have endeared her to the club, tirelessly helping players feel welcome and get acclimated, from planning weddings to helping with immigration issues.

She was excited to help get visas for Bongokuhle “Bongi” Hlongwane’s mother and brother so they could travel from South Africa to visit him here.

Some might say her most essential duty, though, is baking dozens of cookies and muffins for practice, gamedays and road trips, all in her blue Ikea bag.

“If I don’t have that bag with me, I don’t think they would let me on the plane,” Blaker said recently as practice wrapped up at the team’s Sports Center training ground.

In an interview edited for clarity and length, Blaker shared what it’s like to be in her shoes.

I went to the Thunder’s booth and, lo and behold, became an intern. Then I’ve just been doing it ever since. Between myself and Manny Lagos, our chief development officer, we’re probably the longest-tenured on the club, so I’ve seen it all.

Since 2012, 2013, I’ve been solely dedicated to the first team and doing all the operations and the travel of the team. Making sure everybody shows up to work and training. Making sure everyone’s up to speed with work visas and immigration. The onboarding piece of the player care, getting them into houses, bank accounts.

I’m also overseeing our second team and how they operate. I have some dedicated player care staff that helps support those off-field needs, so we can focus on making sure the guys feel good about coming here and getting work done.

You have to multitask and be very detail-oriented. A lot of what I’m doing is forecasting a problem, even if the problem might never arrive. I love what I’m doing so it doesn’t feel like work.

I don’t recall, but it’s been years. Now I’m constantly baking. I did a blondie bar for today. For the next game, I’ll bake coffee cake, muffins and cookies.

Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, because he doesn’t like chocolate, goes with some pretty rogue requests. He sent me not even a recipe, just a picture of a cookie. A strawberry snickerdoodle. Like, make that.

I’ve helped players when they’re coming into the country and their wife is pregnant, get them set up with an OB-GYN and where they’re going to deliver the baby. I’ve done courthouse weddings for several players or I’m their witness in a wedding. I did a gender-reveal party for former player Christian Ramirez. Former player Kervin Arriaga, I planned his wedding. We did it at the center field of Allianz Field.

Dayne brought me his goalkeeper gloves to modify when he had a fractured finger. I unstitched them and restitched them to fit his middle and third finger together. I attempted it and then he handed me five more pairs. He said, keep them coming. So that was, like, a month of whatever season that was.

On a training day, I like to get here by about 7:30 in the morning, to have an hour to do emails and prep work, and then the team gets in. We have a morning meeting. We work through training. If people can get out of here, and I can get on here by three or four, then I’m out the door and available by phone. On a game night, I carpool with one of our assistants. You’d think a carpool is supposed to be a fiscally mindful idea, but we’re making multiple stops for food and coffee, so we probably spend a lot more money than if we just drove separately. But that makes it fun. We get to the stadium by 4 and eat and hang out until the 7:30 kickoff. Then hopefully I’m home by 11:30 or midnight.

The L.A. Galaxy, because of the hotel and because of Handel’s ice cream. There’s not one in Minnesota but any time I find that a city has Handel’s, I get the birthday cake ice cream and I punch it down.