Every few months, someone asks me what does an athletic director actually do? One of the joys of my job is that no two days are ever the same, but I thought people might find my schedule over 75 hours this past weekend to be interesting. It comes with some insight into why I love my job so much.
Thursday, September 22
1:30 p.m. – Just arrived in Williamstown with Associate Athletic Director Tim Ryan, Head Trainer Dan Davies, and Bowdoin’s Director of Health Service, Sandra Hayes. Anyone who says that Bowdoin is off the beaten track, hasn’t been to Williams lately. You almost can’t get there from here.
2:00 p.m. – Listened to a talk by Dr. Robert Cantu—a world-renowned specialist on concussions—on the current research and best practices for treatment. He was on ESPN’s “Between the Lines” on Sunday morning. Not a lot of new information, but a brilliant man. Nothing like being on the cutting edge in your 70s!
3:00 p.m. – Conversation with my NESCAC colleagues and other health professionals about concussions. Led by Dr. Mark Peluso, Bowdoin Class of 1988 and the Director of Health Services at Middlebury, we had a great discussion about collaborating to ensure the best care for our students. Our friends in the Ivy League published a paper this summer, which basically established current practice as policy. I’m hoping those of us in NESCAC can work together in a more meaningful way.
5:30 p.m. – Dinner with Tim, Dan, and Sandra. Great minds think alike. We all order the same thing to eat. Talk between bites reflects on Dr. Cantu’s talk and the follow up. I’m reminded how much I enjoy working with Sandra and how lucky I am to work at a place where people work together. Hearing Dan, reminds me of how personally he takes the health and safety of students. Being a leader in Sports Medicine is a Bowdoin tradition that started decades ago with Dr. Dan Hanley. I’m proud it’s part of our story.
7:00 p.m. – Off to West Point and Women’s Tennis. Glad I have GPS.
Friday, September 23
10:00 a.m. – It’s starting to rain. College tennis tournaments focusing on individual results are not the best of spectator events. Rain makes it worse. At least I get to spend the day sitting and chatting with the team. Or I should say, we talk when they’re not studying. We could use the science texts they’re toting for strength training.
11:00 a.m. – Worked out important future uniform decisions with the captains. I can be a miser, but I think it’s really important that our teams look good.
11:30 a.m.– Best line of the day: Senior Hannah Horner (a very successful student) to first-year Emma Chow, her doubles partner – “Emma, enough environment science, it’s time for tennis!”
Noon – Quick lunch in beautiful Highland Falls, N.Y., just outside the West Point gate. My college coaching career started at West Point in the fall of 1978. I haven’t been back in 25 years. Luckily, Shades, my favorite restaurant, is still going strong. The chicken sandwich is as good as I remember. Rudy Shade is still the owner and he remembers me! Second time in two days I’ve spent time with somebody who’s 70+ and looks 50.
1:30 p.m. – I really enjoy watching the team play and Coach Hobie Holbach coach. We’re the only DIII team in the tournament, but we’re doing really well. I watch 5 matches and we win them all. Watching Hobie leaves me with two vivid impressions: he has the quiet air of a great coach and I want to put WD40 in his knees.
3:15 p.m.– Time to head back to Brunswick.
5:15 p.m.– Crawling on Interstate 84. I love Maine.
8:00 p.m.– Red Sox and Yankees rained out. In retrospect, probably a good thing.
10:30 p.m.– Home
Saturday, September 24
10:00 a.m. – Watch Volleyball warm up. Leadership on teams is so important. No surprise this team is 7 -1 on the way to 10 – 1. As with all seniors, it’s hard for me to believe this crew is in their last season. Jillian Berkman, Kristen Hanczor, and Gina Lonati represent the best of Bowdoin. Today’s games won’t be my best opportunity to watch them, but there will be other, better, opportunities. I love the emotional swings in the game and the raw power.
10:30 a.m.– Cruise through Whittier and around the Pickard Fields. I used to have responsibilities on game day, but not so much anymore. Now I just pace.
11:00 a.m.– Off to Sawyer Park and the dedication of our newest racing shell. The dedication is part of the 25th Reunion of the resurrection of Rowing. The new boat is named in honor of William Harding, who, along with Phin Sprague and Bill Brown, were the force that brought the sport back to Bowdoin in 1986. Unfortunately, Phin is the only one of the three still with us. It was a delightful ceremony with Finn taking center stage. We re-dedicated one of the team’s original shells, which had been lovingly and beautifully restored by Hunt Dowse ‘69. The new boats look nice. They’re fast and much more durable, but the old shells with their wood polished up are a work of art.
11:30 a.m.– Check scores on my iPhone during the dedication. Middlebury has the early lead in Field Hockey.
12:15 p.m.– Back to campus. Things aren’t looking great. Field Hockey and Men’s Soccer are tied with the Panthers. Women’s Soccer is down.
12:30 p.m.— I’m standing so I can watch Field Hockey and Women’s Soccer at the same time. Field Hockey overtime is very exciting when they cut down on the number of players on the field. The field seems to be tipping our way. On a corner, I hear the sound I love, cheering for a winning goal at home.
12:45 p.m.– There appears to be an emergency at Whittier. The grills for the post-game parent cookout haven’t arrived. I have a responsibility! I dash over. False alarm. They showed up. I decide to stay at football for a bit.
1:00 p.m.– After the Longfellows do a great job with the National Anthem, the game starts. We have a new PA system. It’s fantastic! We’ve even got the ref miked. Unfortunately, the football game doesn’t start well. We’re down 13–0 before I know it. I decide to head back to the soccers.
1:30 p.m.– My wife calls. “Where are you?” “At work” doesn’t quite sound like the right answer. It turns out we’re on opposite sides of the same field. I join her to watch Men’s Soccer. We’re down 2-1. Great game between two great teams. 15 minutes to go and we’ve had chances.
1:45 p.m.– Sometimes I follow scores on my phone more than watching the game I’m at. Football is coming back. My heart rate picks up. I hear a good cheer from Women’s Soccer. My heart races even more.
2:00 p.m.– Another cheer from Women’s Soccer. We’re tied! Looks like we’re going to run out of time in Men’s Soccer. No, wait. We score with 42 seconds to play to tie it up.
2:05 p.m.– Over to Women’s Soccer to watch overtime. Another great game. We’re a very young team, but we’re finding our way. Ted von Gerichten and Carmen Durarte are in the stands. Ted and I worked together at Brown and their daughter Alexandra ‘09 played soccer for us. They just came up from Rhode Island to watch. We have great fans.
2:10 p.m.– Midd appears to score in Women’s Soccer, although the linesman takes forever to make up his mind. Do I really pay these guys? Disappointing.
2:15 p.m.– Men’s Soccer ends in a tie. Back to football for the second half where it stands at 24-10.
2:30 p.m.– Men’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Terry Meagher took over game management at football this year. I enjoy watching him make sure that his players doing the chain crew have their act together. Nick Goldin ’13 makes two amazing catches wearing a cast on his hand. Reminds me of Patrick Noone ’12 last year.
3:30 p.m.– We lost in football, 24-21. A lot of disappointed people including me. I see a very big guy I don’t know sitting on the bench while Dave talks to the team. He’s a prospective student on a visit from New Jersey. I talk with him and his parents for a while. Very nice family and we can’t have too many big kids. Good for me to do something productive.
4:00 p.m.– Stop by the parent tailgate. They could feed a small country. Home to shower.
5:00 p.m.– Reception at the Museum of Art for the Parents Committee. I’m there more as a spouse than for my job. I thought the Hopper exhibit was very cool, but the Chinese bronzes in the upstairs gallery are amazing. How did we get these two shows to a small college in Maine? At the same time?? Promise to send Ro French, mother of Emily ’11, directions to Williams. I’m feeling guilty about not going.
6:30 p.m. – Off to the Rowing celebration. Over 65 people back. Stories from the early years are very funny and enough to terrify any AD. Visions of crew shells tumbling down the interstate fill my head. Rodie Lloyd ’80, Director of Alumni Affairs is called on to a hold a baby when it’s the mother’s turn to speak. Duties as assigned (those who know me well, know I’m jealous).
9:00 p.m.– End of a great night. Connecting generations of athletes is a lot of fun.
Sunday, September 25
3:30 a.m.– It was my Sunday early morning, but for the prospective students visiting campus with Explore Bowdoin program, it was still Saturday night. I’m giving a group a ride to the airport to return home. The conversation in van is non-stop. Did I ever have that much energy? Best line I eavesdropped on: “Everyone is so nice.”
Noon – I start checking scores. We’re up 1-0 in Field Hockey vs. Williams. I feel guiltier for not being there.
2:00 p.m. – I’m working out in the Fitness Center when the Football team passes through to lift. I want a “do over” or 2 more minutes.
4:00 p.m.– Field Hockey beats Williams 3-1. Women’s Soccer ties and Men’s Soccer loses 1–0. Not sure what genius came up with this schedule. And the Pats blew it!
75 hours in the blink on an eye. We split soccer and field hockey with Middlebury and Williams. Lost a heartbreaker in football. Crushed three opponents in volleyball. Downed Colby in Women’s Rugby to remain undefeated, and I find out later that sailing continued their great start to the year. A lot of good, but we want more. Our expectations are high and I love it. Saturday night in the Museum, President Mills and Kevin Salatino, the director of the Museum, talked about how important it is to expect excellence at Bowdoin. I couldn’t agree more.
Now I can’t wait until next week.
