With off-campus practice a daily – and sometimes twice-daily – reality, this old coach spends a fair amount of time in the driver’s seat of whichever van we happen to be using on that given day (Side note: My personal favorite is a maroon-colored vehicle I call the “Iona Van,” which sports the Gaels’ colors and has a nice stepping piece leading to the driver’s seat, helpful for my creaky knees).
In my never-ending quest to act irreverent or downright immature, one of my latest tricks is to watch closely as our athletes approach the van and just as they are about to open one of the van doors – bam! – I quickly hit the power locks. Bewildered, they wonder out in the cold why the van door is locked. Until they realize it’s just their goofy coach being goofy again.
So now, it’s a game. The guys will sneak up to the van and try to snatch open the door before I lock it. Or maybe, savvy runners will leave the side door open for the next group of guys coming along. On my end, I tell them to shut the door to keep the heat in, and then I try to lock it at the exact moment they reach for the door handle – further heightening the frustration.
Yeah. All in a day’s work.
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