University of Tennessee Athletics
Mark Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Final Day
November 25, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2009
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 6
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 5
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 4
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 3
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 2
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 1
It's always tough getting up in the morning after a loss, especially a tough loss like the one we endured Monday night. You immediately begin thinking about nearly each and every play throughout the game--that if done differently maybe we would have pulled out that victory. As a staff we take these types of losses just as hard as our players.
However, I'd be lying to you if I said waking up this morning was like waking up after losses I've experienced in the past. Sure I was upset. Please believe I was asking myself, "Well maybe if we would have done this..." or "If only we would have gotten that stop, or made that shot, etc." But, waking up to a view of the clear blue ocean water, sandy beaches, and palm trees outside your hotel balcony makes the morning a little bit easier. I, along with numerous other members of our staff was up bright and early despite a very long night. We had all been extremely busy since arriving in the Virgin Islands, so many of us wanted to take full advantage of our last few hours in paradise.
My fiancé and I were out of our hotel door and headed straight to the beach at 7:30 a.m. Other than team functions, this was literally my first time out of the hotel. Walking along the beach all I could think about was how I felt like I was living in a real-life postcard. (Yes, I am admitting that my girl and I walked along the beach, and yes, I realize I have just opened myself up to being teased for the next week. I can only hope my boys are not loyal blog followers!) The views in every direction were amazing!
As we walked back toward the hotel to where many members of the staff were having breakfast, you could see one of the cruise ships coming into the dock. Those things are enormous! At about 9:30 a.m. the temperature had to have already been near the 80s, so we headed down by the pool. At that time I sent out a text to every staff member in our traveling party asking them to come down to the pool for a staff "Meet The Parents"-style game of pool volleyball. It was around this time (9:30) that a few of the guys began to wander down to breakfast. The majority of guys decided that they wanted to sleep in after a long day and night on Monday.
At about 10 a.m. the staff volleyball game was on! We had two immensely talented teams (and by immensely talented I mean absolutely terrible) dueling it out for a good 45minutes. Not only did we follow none of the rules of volleyball, I don't think we cared one bit. We had so much fun! There was playful trash talking, competitive volleys and uncontrollable laughter as people dove for ball after ball to help their team win a game that nobody even kept score for. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that my team won 84-79.
To me, this simple game of volleyball was just one example of why it is awesome working for this basketball program. Whenever you hear Coach Pearl say something about our Tennessee Basketball Family he is speaking from the heart. Considering we see each other more then our actual families, our Tennessee Basketball staff and their families are my family.
At 12:30 p.m. we departed for lunch on our way to the airport. Although all of us enjoyed our time there, most everybody was ready to get back Knoxville. Our travel back to Knoxville went very smooth. Travel Coordinator Billy Whitesell, Athletic Trainer Chad Newman and Associate Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois were very detailed in making sure every one was taken care of. Well, everyone that is except Wayne Chism, who while walking through the isle of the airplane absolutely nailed his head on the TV hanging from the ceiling.
For the majority of the duration of our travel Coach Pearl watched tape of College of Charleston in order to prepare for our game vs. them on Friday. I'm telling you, from November to April it doesn't stop!
After our long day of travel, we got back to Knoxville around midnight. As guys got off the plane we reminded them that they must be at ALL of their classes Wednesday and that we would be practicing that afternoon. The trip was amazing, but there is no place quite like Knoxville.
Now that our trip has concluded I just want to give a few personal thanks. First of all, thank you to all of you that took the time to read these daily blogs. I hope that they were insightful in giving you a taste of what our players and staff do on a daily basis to prepare for our games. I'd also like to thank Tom Satkowiak, our Sports Information Director for allowing me to share this GREAT experience our team had over the last week. In our highly publicized world of college basketball there are a lot of people who work behind the scenes that get very little public acknowledgement for all that they do. Therefore, I'd like to thank student-managers Johnny Paul Cole, Seth Ottinger and Jay Spurlock. These three guys get absolutely no credit, but I promise you they are as vital to our massive operation as any Coach or other staff member. They are not only hard workers, but more importantly they are great guys!
Lastly, on behalf of our team I'd like to thank all those Tennessee supporters that traveled to the Virgin Islands to support us. We truly appreciate you! Your support and dedication to our program are prime examples of why it's great to be a Tennessee Vol. Our team would also like to thank the University and our Athletic Department for allowing us to experience such a wonderful place. This week is something we will be talking about for years and years to come. Thank You!
Mark
