Troy University Athletics
Let the Basketball Games Begin
11/18/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Q: What do two (or three) U-turns, three mini-vans packed like circus clowns, and four plane rides in three days all have in common?
A: They are all joys of traveling with the TROY Men's Basketball team. We've barely recovered from the trip to Wilmington, North Carolina, as I write to you now, will be practicing late tonight, and will be headed out on a sleeper coach at 3 in the afternoon tomorrow for a three day trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The trip started Sunday around 5 p.m. CST with a little puddle jumper out of Montgomery to Charlotte, North Carolina. You've not lived until you've seen Tom Jervis, who checks in at 7 foot, 230 pounds, board a CRJ 100. I'll have to take a picture for you on the next trip. Images from Alice in Wonderland come to mind.
In Charlotte, we boarded a bigger plane to go a much shorter distance - go figure - and landed around 9:30 p.m. EST. At this point, the 19 people and their luggage in the travel party piled in our four rental mini-vans. Once again, to see the tall guys getting in and out of mini-vans is a sight for sore eyes; especially since they all cram into only three of the four vans. Coach David Felix must have warned them about my driving ahead of time, because none of the players rode with me. It must be my selection of radio stations that keeps them away...
One of my unwritten responsibilities and simple pleasures as a critical member in the travel party is to be the lead car in the TROY mini-parade, sans lights and sirens from police escorts of football trips. I am the pilot and the play-by-play announcer, Barry McKnight, doubles as the navigator. I took heed prior to leaving Troy to print directions from the airport to the hotel in hopes that we would arrive unscathed and in a timely fashion. I will say now, to relieve any tension you may have about the safety of the players, that we did in fact arrive unscathed...
The 'timely fashion' is the debatable object. This is where the U-turns come into play. Upon manufacturing of the Alyson-100 series in the early 1970's, my internal compass was either left out or damaged OR my parents didn't purchase the extended warranty. Either way, it's faulty.
I am very good at reading a map and giving/taking directions. (I am the kind of person that gives directions based on landmarks and not actual, measurable distances or reference points.) North as a point on my internal compass is eternally in front of me, with south behind me, east to my right and west to my left. Left and Right I completely understand. Drive northeast for 2.8 miles, then south for 200 yards. Not so much. Take a left at Target and right at the mall. THAT I understand.
Anyway, my internal compass thought we should go left out of the airport and since the directions I had previously printed were somewhat vague in that regards, we went left. It is a bit disconcerting knowing I am responsible for all of the vehicles behind me. After a U-turn and mini-tour of Downtown Wilmington, which has lots of one way streets and pretty fountains in the middle of the roads, I made the executive decision to pull over and call the hotel. Ten minutes later, we were safe and sound in our hotel rooms! Upon arriving back at the airport this morning, it was clear that I should have gone in the opposite direction of my gut feeling and we'd made it in a little less than 3 minutes. I have been relegated to driving only, which is fine by me!
So, then we played a little basketball. We were leading by 16 at one point in the first half, and up by 8 at halftime. I have to admit I was feeling pretty good about Troy Basketball: new players contributing to the new system, recently recovered injured players shooting three's and making them, and things running smooth as silk in the first half. Very fast basketball, but smooth. Then, it's 15 minutes of half time: a time to rest, drink some PowerAde, get ready to play another 20 minutes, pep talk, strategy, so on and so on.
In retrospective thinking over the last week in Troy sporting events, I think half-time may not always be a good thing. We could probably play 40 minutes of uninterrupted basketball (or 60 minutes of football) and come out better than stopping between halves. Maybe that's what the NCAA Rules Committee should implement the next time a new set of rules comes up for vote. We implemented a new three point line for the men this year. My nomination for next year would be to get rid of half time, or maybe get 5 minutes of quiet time on the bench, rather than going in the locker room for 15 minutes. That's just my suggestion.
The most common question asked of me is to compare the two sports from an athletic training perspective. I'll hit the high points and then continue in the next installment.
The first and most obvious is the ratio of staff to players. I am the only staff member that travels with the Men's Basketball team and I have two Athletic Training Students that help out in day-to-day operations. Compare this to the 2 full-time staff ATC's, one Graduate Assistant ATC, and 6 SAT's that cover football. Of course, that's in contrast to the 70 players on the travel squad for football and 11 for basketball. This of course, means I work a little harder, but it's good for me.
Next in order of importance would probably be the amount of equipment with which I travel. With basketball I am down to a small briefcase kit that I keep with me courtside and a larger, rolling kit that I keep in the locker room. Packing becomes challenging with road trips that include multiple games at different venues.
Right now, after an issue with the rolling bag, I'm actually down to some plastic bags and my briefcase kit. My kit suffered a career-ending injury at the airport between Troy and Wilmington and had to be put to rest in the garbage can of the UNC-W visitor's locker room. So I brought the contents home in plastic bags tucked in with the dirty laundry. I am now in the market for a new kit, which should be arriving any day. Very exciting times in the life of an athletic trainer when you get a new kit with shiny wheels, a zipper that works and all loaded up with goodies. It's just like Christmas morning!
My season ankle tape count is up to 140 already. Since my students don't travel on the flight trips, I get to do all the taping myself. Lucky me! The players have to tape or brace, their choice, and 7 out of the 10 that dressed this trip were tapers.
Lastly for now, my game attire is most different between the two sports. I get to dress up at the basketball games, as compared to football: khaki pants and Adidas polo for football, Ann Taylor and heels for basketball. Not that I'd rather dress up for a football game, but I do enjoy dressing up for basketball.
The general rule of thumb is not to dress better than the head coach, but I've had a game or two in the last five years where I've failed to observe that rule. Not intentionally, but there are times when the look just comes together. Then there are times when you forget your trouser socks and have to stand on the sidelines so you don't show your bare ankles.
Maybe I'll get a chance to drop a line and some pictures from our tournament in Baton Rouge this week. I'm hoping the trip is better than the last Trojan trip to LSU for many reasons.
Three down and 29 to go 'til March...
GO TROJANS!
Alyson
P.S. Happy Belated Birthday to my "older" sister, Alysia Gramley. She celebrated the 5th anniversary of her 30th birthday Saturday. Yet another family celebration I attended via cell phone. Hope it was a good one and that you have many, many more! Love Ya'!
