The rest of the post (which I suspect will be lengthy) is my recollections of the trip. Its more for myself than anything, but I figure some parents and alumni might find it amusing. If you don't want to read my thoughts about the trip stop now...
OK - you have been warned!
If the Whitman 2010 Spring Break trip wasn't the longest trip in Whitman Tennis history, it surely is near the top. I know some teams fly further or go to exotic locations but I don't think any team has spent 14 days on the road (14 for me, less for the players) or drove 3600 miles! Yes that is not a misprint, I drove 3600 miles in two weeks.
What an absolute blast! I have to say it is so much fun being together for such an extended amount of time. Some might think it's crazy to spend so much time together in a bus. I, however, think its crazy not to spend that time together. In the bus, with just the team, it's amazing the conversations, the experiences and the shared values of the team. In the bus guys can be guys -- laugh out loud, cheer, scream at the top of their lungs, be crude or just be plain silly. It's just not possible to have the same experience in a plane or a shorter trip. Let me state, a trip of this magnitude wouldn't be possible without a quality group of guys. We have a special family and really enjoy each other company.
I'm sure my coaching colleagues think I'm crazy doing a two-week driving trip. So why undertake such a trip? One of the reasons is our wacky conference schedule. In the NWC conference (9 teams) we are required to play a silly double-round robin. In DIII teams are limited to 20 dates of competition. Having to play 16 matches conferences really eats up the schedule and drastically limits what a team can do outside of a conference schedule. If a team plays a couple non-conference matches and a couple fall events there are no available dates for a spring break trip. As I've told my conference colleagues we are the only conference in the nation that requires a double-round robin. It is wasteful of dates and resources, and hampers the ability of good teams to schedule out-of-conference opponents, which is critical for national exposure.
One way around the problem with dates is to play multiple matches on a single day. Under NCAA regulations it is the number of days played NOT the number of matches. The past few spring breaks we have been able to reschedule our Portland matches to the first part of spring break. Since we typically play these matches on Monday and Tuesday we take all the members of the team, divide into two different teams and play two matches at the same time. Besides saving dates it also frees up three weekends during the season when we would've traveled to Portland to play. It is certainly worthwhile to spend a couple days at the start of break to knock out the five Portland matches and then have three weekends during the season free. This year the conference schedule had us hosting PLU and UPS so we ended up playing seven conference matches in five days.
Another reason I like to drive is so the entire team can go on spring break. It is financially prohibitive to fly 15 people during spring break. Even if it were feasible to fly 15 people, I would be faced with the logistical problem of renting multiple vans with underage drivers.
Another plus of driving is the housing. As a team we are blessed with many supportive parents and friends that open their homes to the team. It is SO much more fun to be in a big house together than spread out in hotel rooms. I'm also sure that my AD appreciates the cost difference between hotels and housing. I shudder to think to what hotel rooms what 10 days of hotel rooms would cost.
Our first few nights on the road we stayed at the Fuchs and Deming households in the Portland area. During this section of the trip Coach Ann had a group of players at the Demings and I was with the rest at the Fuchs. Man, talk about living in luxury! The Demings and Fuchs treated us incredibly well. I think Valerie Fuchs should start her own home gardening, entertaining and food magazine! Martha Stewart move over because Valerie can show you a few things!
The first Tuesday of the trip was one of our longest days of the trip. We left the Fuchs house at 7:45am to head over to University of Portland to play doubles against the Pilots. Wasn't a counting match but was certainly fun (and beneficial) to play high level doubles. Following the match we headed back to the Fuchs house to shower, pack-up our belongings, load the van and head out to Forest Grove to meet up with the rest of the team (Coach Ann) and play Pacific. After the match we combined both group of guys into the 14 passenger bus and drove to Eugene to spend the night.
Wednesday was our longest team drive of the trip -- Eugene to Sacramento (8-9 hours). Here is a trick I have learned to make drives more enjoyable. I bring an DC-to-AC inverter and a wireless router. As we are driving down the highway the guys can play video games and/or share music/movies. Pretty interesting listening to the guys play against each other in Starcraft (Jeffrey was the master). If a power source and wireless router were key for the guys, my Droid was my must-have object. I've had the argument with several people but there is no doubt in my mind that the Droid is superior to the iPhone. (editor's note: you are full of it, husband.) With the Droid I could speak into the phone to get real-time navigation ... say "navigate Redlands University" and the phone links into google maps to show the best route, gives turn-by-turn navigation, shows traffic, shows time to destination, and gives street level photo views of each turn...wow! The Droid also has voice-dialing and search. I found this absolutely critical when driving and trying to find some information or make a call (using a head set of course). The Droid uses googlemaps and with a press of the button shows items of interest (eateries) near you. The Droid, like an iPhone, is an outstanding music player, and I listened to A LOT of music during the trip. Without a doubt my MVO (most valuable object) was my Droid.
While on the subject of objects here are some other valuable objects that made a long trip work. Another reason to drive: it was easier to transport a stringing machine. Being on the road for two weeks and playing 11 matches means a lot of broken strings. We spent a fair amount of time stringing rackets in the evenings, before matches and at times during matches. A Leatherman's tool - I always try to travel with a Leatherman and this trip was no different. I used it to slice up fruit and string rackets. I also felt like MacGyver JR when I took apart the 12 volt electrical system in the van trying to find an electrical short. The bus has 12 volt outlets above each seat that, for some reason, were shorting out. It took me about an hour but I dismantled the 12-volt system and managed to find the electrical short. Without the 12-volt plug-ins the guys couldn't charge computers, plug in phones or music players. Another "must have" item was a bottle of hand sanitizer. The guys laughed a bit but every time they got into the van I squirted sanitizer into their hands. In past spring break trips it seems that when one person gets sick, the entire team gets sick. This trip, Christoph started out sick and I was the only other one to get sick. Not sure if it was the sanitizer but I'll be using a bottle of sanitizer on future trips. Lastly a having a cooler of food is key. Guys get hungry, and get hungry at different times so I made it a point of having a cooler full of lunch meat, cheeses, condiments and a box of bread, bagels and fruit. Full bellies mean happy men.
In summary if anyone is planning on taking a 3,600 mile, 2-week trip with 14 players here are items to take:
- Stringing machine
- Leathermans tool
- Hand sanitizer
- Cooler + food
- A Motorola Droid (or lesser iPhone)
- DC inverter
- Wireless Router
- sleeping bags (we traveled with 12)
- Air Mattresses (we traveled with 10)
- Air pumps for mattresses (we had two)
- internet connection and Hotwire.com for hotel rooms
Wednesday was a beautiful drive through OR and Nor CAL. The views of Mount Shasta and surrounding area was absolutely glorious. We ended up spending Wednesday night in downtown Sacramento.
Thursday we left Sacramento, drove to Los Gatos and checked into Hotel Solomon. After unpacking at the Solomon's we headed over to the Stanford campus to hit some balls. Big thanks to Stanford coaches Coupe and Whitlinger for letting us practice on the main Stanford courts. Was fun for the guys to play at one of the best college facilities in the nation.
We had a couple wonderful days at the Solomon house -- great food (yes Mama Bear, you are a great cook), Rock Band on a Play Station, billiards (I was the champion), swimming, and wonderful company. I think everyone thought I was losing my marbles, but I slept outside each night and had wonderful, restful evenings.
Sunday was another very long day. We had to get up early (7am) and drive to Santa Cruz. On Sunday we had an brutal double-header playing Cal Lutheran and UC Santa Cruz. Originally we were going to play Cal Lu on their home courts later in the week, but since they were in Santa Cruz (and only playing 1 match) we decided to move the match to Santa Cruz. At the time it seemed like sound logic: we get to play on neutral courts against a good team. What I didn't realize (no one did) was that Ca Lu might be the best team in the nation. In fact if the ITA released rankings on Saturday they would probably be #1 Ca Lu and #2 Santa Cruz.
After those matches we headed back to Hotel Solomon to pack up and drive south. However on the drive to Los Gatos the guys were begging for In-and-Out Burger and let me say, it's just pathetic when grown men (or mostly grown men) beg for a burger. So we took a detour and went to the nearest In and Out (which was 30 mins away). I know the guys enjoyed stuffing themselves with burgers from the famous CA chain but it took too long. By the time we made it back to Hotel Solomon, showered, packed-up, and loaded-up it was near 10pm. I should mention that loading luggage for 15 people + stringing machine into the bus is a major undertaking! Takes a fair amount of planning, pushing and shoving to get everything into their correct place. That night we drove to Pismo Beach, CA (got in about 2am) and stayed at the Sadeghi household. Wow what a great home. The house was empty and we had the whole place to ourselves.
Originally I planned to get up early on Monday and drive to Redlands (about 3 hours). However we were enjoying the house and location so much we stayed most of the day. The guys watched movies, went swimming, some hit tennis balls and all enjoyed the sunshine. Personally I enjoyed a break from the van.
By the time we hit the road Monday it was around 4pm. We drove to Glendale and had a wonderful dinner with the Sadeghi's in Glendale. What a spread of food! I think it was the the only time the entire trip that the guys actually left food on the table! After the amazing dinner (and view) we made our way to Redlands and spend the night in a hotel near the Redlands campus.
Tuesday the trip really gets interesting -- at least for me. After the Redlands match I realize my wallet is missing. I used it before the match get Gatorade at a nearby store and then lost track of it. Not sure when it fell out of my pocket (or was taken from me). After the match we unloaded the front of the van and double-checked the courts but no wallet. First time I've ever lost a wallet on a tennis trip. Only saving grace is it is at the end of the trip. Not sure how the trip would have progressed if my wallet went missing early in the trip (no money).
Tuesday afternoon was a bit of a mad scramble. Matt leaves with his family to stay in Southern CA and watch little sister play matches for Pomona. Sam takes Quin with him to stay the night in Glendale. I drive to the Ontario airport and check 8 guys into a nearby Holiday Inn (thanks Hotwire). Those 8 guys were scheduled to fly home Wednesday morning. After making sure those 8 were settling and ready to fly out in the morning, I leave for Vegas with Nadeem, Jake and ET.
Jake, Nadeem and ET knew I would be driving through Vegas on the way back to Walla Walla (it is the shortest route) and planned to spend the remainder of their break there. Since I don't have any money, credit card, or ID I have Nadeem check me into a room to spend the night. I also had to convince one of them to fill up the van so I had fuel to drive the next day. My Vegas experience was heading up to my room and collapsing on the bed.
From Vegas I mad a bit of a southern detour. As fate would have it my parents happened to be in Fort Mohave, AZ (about 100 miles south of Vegas). I had been in contact with my parents about my wallet/money predicament and they were going to help me out. Great day hanging with my parents and seeing the sights around Fort Mohave (and the CO river). The next day with my dad's debit card in hand I finally headed for home.
Nothing too interesting to report besides that it was a pretty long drive. On Thursday I drove from Fort Mohave to Jackpot, NV. I was hoping to make it to Twin Falls, ID, but it was getting dark, was spitting snow and I was tired. My original plan was to sleep in the bus (I had air mattresses and sleeping bags) but it was pretty cold (high 20's) so I went into the casino and asked if I could pay cash (father had also provided me with some emergency cash) and check in without an ID. After calling the manager over the hotel staff agreed to let me check-in and spend the night.
Uneventful drive on Friday and I made it back to Walla Walla and my family about 5pm. Actually it was kind of funny as I was driving through Walla Walla I got a cramp in the arch of my right foot. The bus didn't have a cruise control and I think my foot was finally telling me that it was tired of driving! Quite a sight seeing my kids waiting outside for me to arrive.
If anyone finds a black wallet in the Redlands area, check to see if it is mine! Not much cash in the wallet and the CC's have all been canceled (editor's note: thanks to beautiful and talented wife at home). I would, however, really like to have my 2010 Oregon fishing license back!
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