Derby

The Derby

And we are off.  It’s July and basketball’s annual summer recruiting derby has begun.   Out of the gates I am in the southeast (Atlanta and Orlando) and my staff is on the west coast.  We are neck in neck with other division I schools as scour the country for that very special student athlete.

 The track conditions have changed over the years.  Cell phones, computers, iPods, iPads,  GPS and small Star Track type of devices stuck in your ear are now standard derby equipment.  Coaches madly tap messages into their electronically enhanced hand about the latest happening on the “stud du jour.”

Yesterday, I was sitting next to one of division I’s more famous (and needy) coaches.  She could not figure out who was on what court and there was no assistant in sight, so she kept asking me.  I had a small hand made game chart  (on paper) that I had done the night before.  Since I was trying to watch 3 games at once, I had each playing team marked in my book with a colored paper clip.  That way I can just flip to the proper roster via the proper colored paper clip thus avoiding the hassle of going page by page through the enormous and alphabetically challenged roster book. 

After a few game had passed and many questions answered, the famous coach asked me what I was using to keep track of all the games.  I told her I used a pencil and some paperclips.  She thought I was clever and I laughed and said not clever…just not electronically savvy.    She did not know that I had been running in this derby for over 25 years and knew many different track conditions.  Despite all the changes on the track the new ways are not always the better ways.  I gave her some colored paper clips and a pencil.  Then asked her to not tell any other Ivy about my cleverness.

Chris