From the Other Side

There has been so much to look forward to between the last day of finals on Davidson's campus (December 18th) to the first day of the spring semester (January 12th.) I've been visiting many families and friends over this extended time away from my current residence and it's all been terrific, complete with many highlighted moments. Two of these highlights from Northern Virginia and Pittsburgh came in watching Fairfax High School battle Westfield on Friday night and Paul VI compete on Saturday.

Now I've only known Fairfax High School Swimming and Diving from the coaching perspective and the unique experience from watching behind the glass certainly was a challenge. But observing kids you used to coach and opponents you used to try to defeat from up top was enjoyable, if not unique. The races and dives came and went and once the meet concluded, the best moments soon followed. Being able to congratulate so many members of the team made the trip worth-while. I wanted to pull 70 chairs together right there in the Wakefield parking lot and have a huge talk with the group about how much I missed them and how much I think about their season as it unfolds. There is never enough time to get caught-up with every one's happenings in a 5-second handshake or hug. It was special, though, and it couldn't have commenced my Christmas any better.

The following day I saw Michelle (Patty's youngest sister and my favorite person) swim for Paul VI. Michelle had not swum on any other team other than Villa during the summer and in this her senior season, she decided to dedicate three months to swimming for a more intense program. Not only did she do well in the relays, but she looked terrific in the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly, two events she would not have dreamed of swimming just one month earlier. Two other Villa swimmers, Marcus and Connor toughed it out in difficult events, leaving their comfort zones of sprint freestyle to face more challenging obstacles head-on, like the 200 IM and 500 free.

When you cultivate these relationships with athletes, witnessing their successes is a privilege. To see Fairfax guys and girls beat Westfield and to see those PVI swimmers makes my so glad to be associate with athletics. It's ironic how, in the previous entry, I wrote about what it takes to be a fan. Until last weekend, I never thought about the transformation of coach to fan and how can have such a profound effect on me. I may not always be the coach for those kids for that season, but I'll always be their fan.

Being a Fan

The biggest game in the AFC took place yesterday in Baltimore and I had been looking forward to it about five minutes after the Cowboy win. CBS moved the previously scheduled 1PM Steelers at Ravens match-up to accommodate more national attention and casual fans. Like many Sundays, I plan my day around the Steeler game. I've been lucky, in many regards, that a) many of the games this season have been on national television or b) if I did not get the game, I had Christa texting me updates every 4 minutes with what was happening because I was not near a television, Internet, or telephone-appropriate atmosphere.

I didn't really think twice about the Ravens game - I would get home from the office at 4:10PM and calmly sit on the floor, like always, and will the guys on to victory.

Unfortunately for me, the ONLY regions in the United States of America that were not showing this clash of gladiators were Denver and CHARLOTTE. Thanks a lot Panthers.

Now if any of you know much about my elitist fan habits, many things may and may not occur when I watch my teams. Of the 18 rules I religiously uphold, in the top three is never watching games in public. I don't deal well with unintelligent commentary, cheering, chit-chat about how work is going, people that claim to be fans and embarrass our fine city and my family, smoke, the opposing fans, people who are "smarter" than the coaches, people who think they are smarter than me, and people cheering for their fantasy players. But here I was at a crossroads. I could stay in my apartment, hitting the refresh button on the computer with extreme vigor and hoping they show highlights every 5 minutes, or I could go somewhere to watch the game.

I reluctantly pick up the phone and start dialing some numbers. First option - only showing the Panthers game. Second option - we don't show games. Third option - Tropicana Sports Bar. I call and the "gentleman" on the phone says something like "yeah we're showin' the Steelers game on one of these TVs." Out the door...

(Here's how one person describes my destination: "The building itself is fairly non-descript. It shares a parking lot with a smoke shop, and a small sign on the roof is your only clue that you are looking at a sports bar. The atmosphere is definitely unpretentious and laid-back. It isn't super-spacious, but let's face it: at the end of the night, after you've already had a few, it doesn't really matter.")

(Chagrin)

Upon entering, the SEVEN people around the bar are watching the Panthers game and in the corner on a 25-inch box is my game. The bar table directly in front of the game has one ashtray, one Styrofoam cup and no people. And there I would sit - for roughly three full quarters gazing at the defensive slobber-knocker.

Since I'm a fairly positive person, let's start with the positives of the experience. First, I had a seat. Second, no one sat with me. Third, did I mention I had a seat.

But damn it, the boys needed me. If I needed to drive through the rain and inhale the smoke, listen to "GO D'ANGELO" for when the Panthers' RB would run, tolerate the swearing, spilled booze, randoms throwing 100% accurate nuggets of knowledge my way, no volume, and the darkness, than that's what I was going to do. That's what happens, though, when you're a fan. You'll do things you never thought you would because YOU affect your team's fate. They need your focus and subliminal play calling through the television to get into the endzone. You need to only eat non-fruit items at halftime because that's what the team would want you to do.

And with just over three minutes remaining in the game, down 3 and 92 yards away from the endzone, Tropicana did seem like such a bad place. Our boys shrugged off 57 minutes of JV offense to score an incredible touchdown a catapult us to a North Division crown. The game was a classic and I was so proud of our guys for looking at the Ravens nose-to-nose and walking away as the better defense (and offense.) There were so many big plays that determined the outcome that it's hard to anoint anyone the players of the game. And I saw it.

After getting in the truck, I immediately called Robby to get his reactions and get a gauge for his excitement. He proceeded to state that we won the game because of what he had done in the bar right before every possession the Steelers scored upon and thus, we owe the first-round bye to him.

I'd like to think we both had something to do with it - maybe even more than usual.

The Pittsburgh Report - December 12th

Every so often, I'll be posting my thoughts on how things are going in the homeland. This could range from how the Steelers recap of the previous week, to how the schools still don't close despite 18 inches of snow - to what Mammaw made for Sunday dinner. It will most likely be in bullet format, but if I get really fired-up, I may throw in the occasional rant. Enjoy:

* The Steelers are in a battle this week. Hines has a great quote about the Ravens: “Anybody in purple, they’re hated. It’s a respect, but there’s no love for them. They’re not inviting me to come out and eat crab cakes with them.” Both team will want to control the ball and field position. Watch out for Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth - if they have big games, we'll win.

* The Penguins had lost 3 in a row before beating the Islanders by a touchdown. It's a game they needed to win, but I hope they saved some goals for their next 12 against conference foes.

* In honor of the Pirates selecting Donnie Veal in the Rule 5 Draft, I wore my Buccos sweatshirt to practice today. This is a sign that we are moving up - I hope. Pirate fans count to date: 20

* Pitt football - At last, the boys are in the Sun Bowl with nine wins playing on New Year's Eve - count me as someone that did not think that would happen after losing to Bowling Green in the first game.

* Pitt basketball - I'm going to have a lot of fun watching them this season. They've had some nice wins against Washington State and Texas Tech. Tomorrow they face Siena, one of the surprise NCAA tournament teams last season.

Family Notes:

Christa continues to work hard for the Pitt sports information department. I really hope they consider taking her to El Paso for the Sun Bowl. I promise that no one in the Salerno family tree will have ever traveled farther for their job.

Dad went to the Steeler/Cowboy game last week and stated it was "the coldest he's ever been in his life." But, he says, "all the idiots that yell were too cold to stand and make jag-offs of themselves. So that was nice."

Mom is currently looking for non-pleated pants for me for Christmas. This will mark the 18th straight Christmas I look to upgrade my wardrobe solely on December 25th. Thanks Mom!

Have a great weekend everyone!

That Was Then, That Was Now

I remember when I was about 10 years old and I discovered our soccer team would be going to an outdoor tournament in the Middle of Nowhere, Ohio. I was really excited at the prospect of STAYING IN A HOTEL and getting to PLAY SOCCER WITH MY FRIENDS against COMPLETE STRANGERS in the BITTER AUTUMN CHILL. I specifically remember playing in short sleeves (despite the snow) and feeling so tough - even if I was only ten. We returned to Ohio a few other times for soccer and each tournament was just as enjoyable as the previous year's. And yes, I still continued to wear short sleeves.

Fast forward to this past weekend. When I had heard of the prospect of traveling NORTH to Ohio for a swim meet, again I was extremely excited. I had never been to this particular Middle of Nowhere, Ohio (Gambier) but I could not help but recall those frigid days in shin guards, on the pitch, with my pals, playing great games and having a blast.

Our trip this past weekend was a success on many fronts. First, the team broke ten school records, which is not easy to do when you are not fully tapered. Even if records were not broken, most of the 23 Wildcats that made the voyage swam season bests and stood toe-to-toe with some of the fastest swimmers in the country, noteably Penn, host-Kenyon, and Kansas' women's team. Second, no one got hurt or sick. You might think this is a silly success, but I am surprised how over-prepared the team was for the elements. Some brought hats and gloves and others we ready for the Ididarod.

Most importantly, though, the team continued to grow a little closer. It's amazing how people's perspectives change when you witness a teammate achieve a best time, have a good continental breakfast, or chase squirrels in the snow for five minutes. Instantly, being nervous for the 400IM does not seem so daunting because, after all, you know what you're doing and you'll be great for swimming it. Yes, the team was tired at times, but that comes with the travel, the late nights studying in the hotel lobby and, most noteably, the pressure-inflicted racing.

These trips are very special because they are so rare and such a terrific chance to be away. We may never get snow in Davidson this year and we may not swim against teams this fast. It all refers back to opportunity and making the most of that chance. I have the opportunity to be around some very special kids every day and to know that they enjoyed their trip to Kenyon made my experience that much more fulfilling.

I'm sure that if I were in a profession that required continuous travel from state to state and time zone to time zone, the luster of relocating would dim. There's just something great about knowing your will be STAYING IN A HOTEL and getting to COMPETE WITH FRIENDS against COMPLETE STRANGERS in the BITTER AUTUMN CHILL that is very enticing. The swimmers made my first adventure to Gambier very memorable - almost as if I were ten all over again.

My New Makos

Back in 2004 when I was wrestling with the idea of becoming a year-round swim coach, there was an array of doubts drawing me away from such a prospective opportunity. My primary questions I can’t posing to myself was “would my coaching principles become too myopic to the sport of swimming and, almost more important, would my coaching philosophies shift more to the individual than the team?”

My four years on-board with Makos brought more optimism from the sport than I could ever imagine. I know that I would not be in Davidson without the guidance that I received from my USS experiences and my fellow coaches.

Since moving to Davidson, I never thought that I would miss Makos as much as I do. The increased responsibility over the years was both humbling and very rewarding. I had two groups of my own and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. On one group I had teenagers that were starting to commit themselves to the sport and rising to new feats in their age groups. In the other groups, I had middle school swimmers that were looking to not only get better, but to continue to improve and enjoy the occasional thrill of competition. Both had positive attitudes and they grew on me with every practice and competition; they are irreplaceable.

Now I have the responsibility of coaching two groups for the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club comprised of swimmers that have quite a few differences from my Makos groups. The first group of swimmers, labeled the Junior Swim League, meets for 45 minutes. All of these kids are great in their own right. Half of them think I’m pretty lame, a quarter of them think I’m entertaining, and the remaining fourth usually are underwater when we are trying to accomplish something…anything. Note – this proportion is eerily similar with the college swimmers. The second Mecklenburg group is labeled Teen Fit (similar to the ‘High School’ group of Makos.) They is a lot of talent there, but many of them are unpolished in several aspects of the sport and look as if the interest in swimming was never fully sparked.

MAC is much larger than Makos – it spans four different facilities across Mecklenburg Country and the Charlotte Metropolitan area. There are many differences to Carolina Swimming from the Potomac Valley, but one things remains – the opportunity to teach.

I don’t expect to form life-long bonds with these swimmers from North Carolina in a couple of months. It took a lot of time, communication and good fortune for that to unfurl. For all I know, I might be on my way to open brand-new door to a future I could not have imagined (say, in 2012) thanks to MAC. But one thing that Makos and MAC have done is allowed me to continue to teach young people and stay enthusiastic about coaching and the sport of swimming. For both organizations, I am very grateful.

This weekend, I’m in Ohio and for the first time, a substitute will be monitoring my swimmers back in Davidson. I hope everything goes well – just like I hope it does back in Fairfax. I miss them all when I’m not around them.

Thank You for the Knowledge

There's nothing like being home for Thanksgiving. I've been fortunate enough to return to Pittsburgh for all 27 Thanksgivings of my life, including all four years while attending William and Mary, all five years living in Northern Virginia and now this year while coaching at Davidson. Everything has been going very smoothly, including travel, Patty coming with her family, seeing all of the relatives and friends, and the food. Yesterday was loads of fun even with four lop-sided football matches. Those poor Lions...

Today has been great because I got to watch the Pitt/West Virginia game at home with my dad. This was fun on a number of fronts:

First, Pitt won. They had a terrific first drive and an excellent fourth quarter on both sides of the ball. The prospect of playing in a New Year's Day bowl increases with this solid victory.

Second, I was at home on the comforts of my couch. I guess I really can't claim it as "my couch" but I'm very grateful that my sister allowed me to use it.

Third, I got to watch the entire game at home with my dad. He's pretty much taught me everything I know, especially about how to be a knowledgeable fan. I'm sure many of us have memories of watching sports with your dad or mom or sibling. When I refer to the file cabinet in my brain for random sports trivia, I usually can recollect that precise moment where I was and who I was with. These memories very special and I know I won't lose them anytime soon. Today will go in that file cabinet.

Currently I'm watching the Nebraska-Colorado game and the analyst is commenting how "knowledgeable" Nebraska Cornhusker fans are. Personally, I think it's pretty high praise for a fan base to be nationally labeled as "knowledgeable." I know that I'm not a Cornhusker fan, but I bet the people of Nebraska have a lot of families that share similar memories as me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Living the Moment

This weekend for me was spent at the Davidson Invitational, coaching our fine athletes for a three-day competition against similarly talented southern schools ranging from Old Dominion (CAA men's power) to Limestone (Division II power.) This also marked Week 12 of our season, almost exactly the midpoint between our first Labor Day practice and the conference championships in late February.

The team was using this meet as a great opportunity to see how tough we could remain in a preliminaries/finals format, selecting 5 or more races per individual, and not resting or wearing faster equipment, unlike the majority of the competition. For Davidson students, this week and the days leading to the Thanksgiving break are quite strenuous with schoolwork - many papers, exams, and late nights. Logging 24 hours of pool time over three days definitely puts a dent into studying.

This meet, too, was probably the third to fifth most important competition of the student-athletes' season. There will be bigger races as the season unfolds and the monotony of being in the same environment for a month can feel bland and uninspiring. Yet, amidst fatigue, academic anxiety, and the sheer competitive environment, across the board, the team swam extremely well. I could write at length about each individual and their many successful races and has me very enthused at what awaits us in the coming months. But I want to hone-in on eight individuals in particular.

These individuals did all win (get first-place) at some point over the weekend. They are very dedicated workers, very competitive, very self-motivated. This is not to say that others on the team do not possess these attributes, because they certainly do. The proof in achieving best times is evidence of the former.

The separation, however, comes by living the moment.

John, our head coach, often uses this in describing someone who understands the stakes and embraces the challenge. Many athletes and teams are capable of winning, but to absorb the opportunity and capture the victory remains elusive, especially when the stakes are at its zenith. No, the stakes weren't incredibly high this weekend. The competition, though, was very good and not as beat-up from training as we were.

Opportunity.

We should not have broken any college records at the invitational, yet we broke three. Those three record-setting performances came from three individuals that anyone would love to root for. The other five victors, too, are high-character, hard-working kids that enjoy being Wildcats and are enthralled with leading their squads. They don't gloat, they don't cut corners, and they don't worry about what they can't control. They live for the moment. They embrace the challenge.

This is what made this past weekend so enjoyable and so profound. In ten days, we'll be in Gambier, Ohio against faster swimmers in a charged environment. Our plan has been to make this meet in Gambier our fastest of the fall. As a team, we have had a very successful twelve week run and our twelve weeks ahead look very promising. It certainly will be difficult to better the swims we've posted at this point in the season with little rest, the lengthy travel, and the burden of knowing finals await the kids when they return.

Opportunity.

Watching the Wildcats

This past Tuesday evening, the Davidson Wildcats were in Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Sooners in a Preseason NIT game for the right to go to Madison Square Garden. A bunch of the coaches and members of the athletic department met at the only sports hub in Davidson to watch the 9:30PM tip-off on ESPN2. It was pretty neat and I'm glad I went, especially since social settings + sporting events usually don't mix well with me. Davidson fell short to beating Oklahoma by just four points after trailing by 21 with 13 minutes left and by 15 with 5 minutes left. Everyone was down, but not deflated - it was a quality showing by the Cats against the #12 team in the country.

Mostly everyone at this point knows about Stephen Curry. He pretty much put the Wildcats on his back and carried them all the way to the Elite Eight before falling 2 points short of beating national champion Kansas. Personally, I didn't know much about Davidson's team last year (or at any time) and didn't know what the big deal was. Even as he torched Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin, I just assumed that he was one of the players that is getting hot at the right moment and that it would only be a matter of time before he cooled.

That's not really the case with Steph.

Trust me, you've got to come down here to watch him play.

I don't think I've ever seen, in person, someone get the green light to shoot FROM ANYWHERE. Even as he continues to refine his passing and point guard skills, witnessing Steph at work is pretty cool. He's not selfish. He's not over-ambitious. He's a shooter in the purest sense of the word. Yes, he did throw up one air-ball and one missile straight off the glass. But that didn't deter him and probably never will.

So, when I was watching that ESPN2 telecast and Steph started accumulating all of those points, and the bar would erupt as the Oklahoma's lead shrank, I couldn't help but chuckle knowing I saw this team and that guy live. Davidson will have a huge following this season and who knows if it will last forever or if they are really bandwagoning to watch Curry shoot 500 times. It's pretty clear, though, that he's a remarkable player and I would really like to claim that I'm getting YOU tickets to come down here and watch him play.

Now that Davidson lost to the Sooners and since each of the 16 teams in the Preseason NIT are guaranteed 4 games, that means Davidson has to play two more games. Fortunately for us, Davidson was chosen as the host site, so Florida Atlantic (and Mike Jarvis!!!!!) James Madison, and Loyola of Maryland are coming here on Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving to play.

Two more opportunities to watch them play - in case you're interested.

Thursday Night Football

This week my Steelers are playing the Bengals on the NFL Network on Thursday Night. When the schedule makers first released the 2008 slate of games, I noticed that November 20th was NOT Thanksgiving. "What a second," I thought to myself, "why are there Thursday Night games before Thanksgiving?"

Being a Steeler fan is more than being any other fan. We'd watch our team on Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Halloween, Veterans' Day, Columbus Day, Labor Day, Arbor Day, any day. I will watch and study and cheer through the game just like every loyal Steeler fan. But I'm particularly puzzled why the National Football League continues to extend it's product to a time/day that it's loyal viewers are not accustomed to.


First, the Thursday Night game two weeks ago featuring the Browns and Broncos was not exactly the marquee match-up you should be drawing to open your network's season. Where's the appeal in that - come watch two mediocre AFC teams relive their glory days of the late '80s and have the Browns snatch defeat from the jaws of victory just like they did 20 years earlier.

Last week, the Jets and Patriots game was a classic game and a coming out party for Matt Cassel. I, unfortunately, had fallen asleep before his exceptional touchdown throw to Moss as well as the Favre-lead overtime. This leads to my second point - if you're going to mess with tradition, mess with it so people don't have to adjust too much. Move the game up 30 minutes or before 8PM so most of the country can enjoy the game when there's actually a decent game to watch.

Furthermore, the NFL was the only major sport that USED to be able to boast having all of their games available to anyone with a television. ESPN took Monday Night Football and we can live with that because, frankly, ESPN is basically on most football-watching fans' televisions. The NFL Network, as wonderful as it is, still eludes the majority of fans. How is it a good idea to force people to either leave the comforts of home or pony-up more money to find a cable provider or local bar to find the game? Not only is that bad business, it's dumb business.

Finally, since it's mid-November, I can't help but be reminiscent of my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. There's nothing like it. And there's nothing like it because of the three Fs: family, food, and football (usually in that order, but it all depends on a) how much trouble I'm in and b) if we get to play outside in the streets for sunrise to sunset. But since I can remember, we looked forward to watching the Lions play at 12:30PM and the Cowboys play at 4PM. That's the only Thursday we were treated to football. And that's what it was - a treat. I know that the game has grown, but it should not have grown too much to keep tradition. If we distribute treats routinely, we are no longer treated to them, we expect them.

This change is not a huge enough problem that the NFL will be seen in a darker image, at least for right now. But there are certain traditions and standards that should be maintained, and this is a small one that I would like to see preserved. We don't need to change the number of teams in the playoffs. We don't need to expand. We don't need to have a 4-point field goal or a three-point conversion or a Saturday Super Bowl. We certainly don't need any more Thursday Night football.

Unless you want to put the Browns on every Thursday Night - that would probably be fine with everyone.

A New Hobby

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is getting to instruct spin classes. I never thought I would be writing this two months ago, but it's become a big responsibility and something I'm hoping to not only get good at, but expand.

The other assistant swimming coach, Jess, and I rotate weeks that we lead spinning as part of our dryland routine. This week (Nov. 17-22) is my sixth week leading the cycling circus. Usually we'll have to lead anywhere from 3-6 spinning sessions per week, which can wear you down by Friday.

As you probably know, I'm not a very "in-tune" with today's latest music. It would be very difficult to ride a bike as fast as you can to the sound of a baseball game on the radio or soft hits from the 80s. Nevertheless, I've gotten some help from members of the team and my arsenal of tunes has expanded quite a bit in these first three months.

Creating the mixes is tricky. You have to align the spinning activity with the songs and, depending on what you want to accomplish, can be very difficult for someone as Type A as me. Should I put a fast song here or later - should we climb a tough hill on this song or just wait for the refrain - will anyone really stay awake for this song?

One thing is for certain - I'm very glad I've been given this responsibility. Just last Tuesday, one of the people in charge of physical education at Davidson asked if I would teach a couple of spinning classes in the spring. Sounds good to me! I'm hoping to keep my library updated but that means I'll need everyone's help with collecting new songs - if you have a good, uptempo beat, send it my way. And if you'd like to try my instruction on for size, come to North Carolina for a free sample.