On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again ...

This was written on December 15th but I wasn't able to upload it so here is blog #2 ...

The first semester of school has officially ended and I am now in Orlando, Florida, for the annual USTFCCCA Convention.  That stands for United States Track and Field Coaches ……. something, something, ummmm well it’s our national coaches association.

The past week has been pretty uneventful with the exception of waiting to see how everyone did academically.  It appears, with a few grades still remaining, that we should be ok heading into the indoor season in terms of eligibility.  We always have good grades on our team at Wichita State but with a roster near 130 there are bound to be a few that make you nervous.  Luckily we have rarely ever had a kid come up ineligible, mostly thanks to their hard work and the work of our academic support team.  We’ll get the official word later this week on how everyone did.

I really enjoy traveling.  Today I have been in airports in Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Orlando (I drove to OKC because it saved us about $100 on a place ticket compared to Wichita).  I’m not sure why I enjoy traveling so much but the older I get the more I enjoy it.  As a very young kid I think I traveled more than most.  We would always take family vacations around the country and many of our relatives lived at least an hour away (an eternity for a little kid) but my first taste of weekly travel came when I started racing go-karts around the Midwest when I was 6 or 7.  Racing has always been a big part of our family (my dad raced hydroplane boats with his dad and brothers) and my brothers were heavy into motorcycles.  I was able to race against some current Indy and Nascar drivers back in the day and it will always be a special part of my childhood.

ANYways, back to the traveling thing.  Since going to college at Kent State I’ve pretty much been traveling for much of the year for track and field purposes.  I’ve been in 46 different states (I still need North Dakota, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii to complete the 50) and half a dozen countries (I need to get that total up).  If you’ve ever seen the movies “Up in the Air” with George Clooney you can get a clue about me.  He’s kind of an isolated guy in terms of family and relationships but has lots of friends and is constantly surrounded by people.  Check it out, great movie.

One thing I love about airports is people watching.  I really, really love people watching and airports are one of the best places to do that.  So is Wichita, Kansas.  Something I don’t understand about airports is people’s rush to get ON the airplane.  I mean, the plane isn’t gonna leave until everyone gets on and I’d rather hang out in the airport then sit in a cramped seat for another 15 minutes.  Also, how about the people who rush OFF the plane, only to wait at baggage claim like everyone else for their bag to come?

So tomorrow starts the coaches’ convention where we will hear lots of terrific speakers and talk about issues surrounding our sport for the next 4 days.  And honestly, there is a lot of socializing.  A LOT of socializing.  Another great part of the week is that I will get to see my parents at the end of the week.  They live near Fort Myers, Florida, and I will head over there Thursday after the convention is over.  This is basically our “Christmas” together and I will head back to Wichita at the end of the week.

Next week I’ll let you know how the convention week went and what movies I’m excited to see over the holidays.  Hint, hint, Ron Burgundy is in one of them.