The road less traveled

Still over a month left in the regular season for our team and our travels have already taken us Illinois (twice), South Carolina, Ohio, New York (for five days), California, Colorado, and New Jersey.  That doesn’t even include our two trips to the Dallas area (which seems like a different state).  Our shortest trip of the year will be our last conference game against Houston Baptist; which is only 350 miles and a five and a half hour bus ride!  I know most D1 schools think their travel is tough, but the amount of miles we rack up at UTPA is possibly the most difficult because of our location and the lack of D1 opponents in the surrounding area.  Thank God for Southwest having bags fly for free.  Saves us a pretty penny.   

The good part about the travel is getting a chance to see the country and having our student-athletes get to places they’d usually never get the chance to see.  Playing at Army and getting to see West Point is something every team should experience.  Taking group pictures on top of the Empire State Building was awesome.  Showing the guys around L.A. and having them see the famed ‘Hollywood’ sign for the first time was great.  Watching guys have snowball fights with the Rocky Mountains in the background is a cool memory. 

I know in the middle of the season coaches do a lot of complaining about our records, the refs, travel, and countless other things.  Sometimes I think we need to stop and think about how lucky we are to do what we do.  We’re getting paid to tour the country and coach a game we love.  I know a lot of my former high school and college teammates will often tell me about how they’re envious that I’m doing something I’m passionate about.  I tell them I’m jealous their bank accounts have commas in them.  Regardless of the money, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything.  I am genuinely excited to come to work and figure out a way to get the next win, and help our student athletes succeed on and off the court. 

Despite likely racking up more miles than any other team in the country (did I mention we still have trips left to Utah, North Dakota, and Illinois for a third time), the memories and anticipation of the next play, game, or season is what keeps me going.  I know sometimes I don’t do the cliché and ‘stop and smell the roses’ enough.  How can’t you enjoy eating a Portillo’s Italian beef sandwich in downtown Chicago, or playing a down to the wire game vs. St. John’s of the Big East (although we lost), or having Thanksgiving dinner in Spartanburg, SC, and watching our guys laugh hysterically at the mullet of our waiter.  To steal a line from Hyman Roth of the Godfather movie, “This is the business we’ve chosen,” and with the good and bad comes a lot of great moments that’ll stay with us longer than we think.

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