Who doesn't love a vacation?! We try to take a few different vacations each year. However, being a football family, our weeks and weekends are very specific to our lifestyle and schedule.
Spring break is usually a good time for us to head down south and get our toes in the water.
Winter break works for a quick few days to do something fun but not too far.
The last week of July always seems to be our summer week since coach gives everyone off that week to unplug and relax before the grueling August schedule starts.
However, being a coaching family, I am pretty sure we have different experiences than the average family vacation. Let's talk road trip-we live in Northeast Ohio, which means to get to any southern beach, we have quite the road trip to endure. Being a coach's wife, it is part of my job to keep the kids quiet while dad is on the phone. And I'm not talking a quick 3-minute conversation. Oh no, I'm talking about the entire 57 minutes it takes to drive through the mountains of Virginia! While on that phone call, I may have to serve as secretary, looking up different stats and facts for the phone interview with the local paper or radio station. The research can get quite complicated with those Appalachian mountains and the lack of cell service!
Mid-road trip, we stop at a hotel for a quick night's sleep to get back on the road in the early morning. Do you think we could just stop at any hotel? Nope. Well, the hotel itself doesn't matter to coach, but the city we stay in often starts a conversation about the program and who has coached or played there. If we are really lucky, we get a drive by of the school and stadium, just to compare to our facility and see what others are "working with".
Arrived! We have finally arrived at our destination. Hooray! Now, it's time to take that notebook out to the beach, plant our chairs in the sand and listen to music.
While coach does take plenty of breaks and fights waves, builds amazing sand castles, and plays lots of 2 hand-touch football, his mind is often elsewhere. He's thinking of his first offensive play of the season. He's thinking about how deep his depth chart actually goes and is in constant conversation with other coaches getting opinions and input.
His mind never fully turns off, even though he does his very best at acting like it does. Our vacations together are moments we all look so forward to each year. Our kids don't know what it's like to not be on vacation with coach. They don't know that not all dads give phone interviews in the car or on the condo balcony. They don't know that other families just drive past cities without a single mention of football or that other beach bags don't have "the notebook" inside, and it's our job not to get it wet.
They think it's crazy that other kids take time out of school to go on a fall trip because they know there's no time off during football season.
Our vacations with coach are what we all know and love. And we couldn't imagine any other way to travel!