Truth serum

The question came completely out of the blue, and so too did my answer. I was meeting with a prospective student-athlete (recruit), a rising high school senior touring colleges during the summer. I’ve lost track of the number of these types of meetings I’ve had in the past few weeks – it’s what I do during the summer, because it’s what they (high school kids) do during the summer. I always end the meetings with the generic, “do you have any other questions for me?” line. Most of the time, there are no additional questions after we have talked extensively for an hour or more, as we did in this case. But this kid came up with a doozy, something like this: “Coach, you’ve been doing this a long time, 27 years. What keeps you motivated, energized and wanting to come back for more?”

On the heels of the beginning of preseason today, my response was something like this. I told him that as preseason beckons, I have a feeling of dread and sadness (No. Wait! Keep reading, please!). That feeling comes from the impending and sudden loss of virtually unlimited time I can spend with my family, during the summer months. Oh sure, there is work to be done during the summer, again much of it revolving around recruit meetings and the like, and most days I can be found puttering around the McCann Center for at least a few hours. But starting today, the balance of my hours and my days will be focused on the team and the three-season ride that will continue virtually unabated for the next nine months. As I’m saying this to the kid and his parents, truth serum coursing through my veins, I’m thinking to myself, “You idiot! Don’t you want this kid to at least APPLY here?” But then I added the following: Once my team and our athletes start walking through the door, the dread and sadness are instantly replaced by joy, excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead. And, I told the kid, when I stop feeling that, it’ll be time to think about walking into the sunset. But I’m nowhere close to that stage. On Monday, as I spent a few hours with Rizzo, unpacking and sorting the boxes of gear that will be handed out to the team today (“Coach! It’s like Christmas morning!” Rizzo exclaimed in his usual way), and we talked about preseason and the upcoming year, the juices started flowing and I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of the team. 

So now, it’s time to pack up and head into McCann and start the machine again. Year 27, here we come. Let’s go.