University of North Carolina Athletics
Countdown to Kickoff: Camp Essentials
August 18, 2005 | Football
Aug. 18, 2005
By Adam Lucas
The question seemed to take Del Roberts by surprise. The query was simple: what's the most useless thing one of your teammates moved into the dorm for training camp?
"Wow," Roberts said. "That's a good question."
We'll give Del a minute to ponder his response, because his teammates had plenty of ideas. Since August 11, they've been cooped up in Teague Dorm. This represents a significant sacrifice for upperclassmen, who have to give up the luxury of an off-campus apartment to return to dorm life.
But not everyone returns with the same items.
"A lot of guys are going to say that I brought the most useless thing," Doug Justice said. "I brought a television. People think I'm crazy. But I think it's the guys who brought refrigerators. I guess they want to keep stuff cold. But when you're getting up at 6 or 6:30, do you really care if the Gatorade is cold? And then there are the guys who bring boom boxes, like they're going to come back at night and listen to music."
Justice is right--his teammates think he's crazy. Scott Lenahan immediately cited Justice's television as the most questionable move-in selection. "I saw him take a 30-inch TV all the way up the hill and all the way up to the dorm," Lenahan said. "But hey, if it floats your boat, go ahead and do it."
There is precious little personal time during training camp, because player schedules are tightly controlled. Each day's slate is planned down to the minute, with meetings, meals, academic sessions, and practices taking up a sizable chunk of time. Even the snacks are mapped out with the precision of a wedding planner--on some days the schedule just lists "Snacks," but on others it's "Snacks (Heavy)." Today, for example, breakfast begins at 7 a.m. and there's something scheduled for every part of the day until the 10:45 p.m. bedcheck.
Del, got an answer for us yet?
"Man, this is a tough one."
Fellow receiver Jesse Holley didn't need as much time to make his selection. "I saw Charlston Gray bringing in a big box of clothes," Holley said. "Where are you going that you need a bunch of clothes? It's pretty much dorm, football, dorm."
But not everyone makes as many stops at the dorm. Camp begins every morning (other than Sundays) at 6:55 a.m. at the latest. NCAA rules require at least three hours of non-football related recovery/rest time between segments of two-a-day practices. On the training camp schedule, it's called "Rest Time," and that's exactly how it's used. Some go back to Teague to catch a mid-afternoon nap during the rest period. Others don't want to waste the steps.
 |
Countdown to Kickoff: 23 Days
|
That's why the players' lounge couches are highly prized as nap locations. They're convenient to food and convenient to meeting rooms, which allows for (some players have counted) at least 10 extra minutes of sleep. "You can't afford to waste the steps going all the way back to the dorm," Derrele Mitchell said.
Others prefer the relative comfort of a dorm room. After all, some have imported all the comforts--questionable comforts, perhaps--of home.
"I saw two guys bringing in fold-up chairs," Kenny Price said. "All I could guess was that maybe they were going to use them as footstools."
"One guy, I'm not going to say his name, looked like he was bringing in about a 16-week food supply," Barrington Edwards said.
We can assume Edwards wasn't talking about himself. If that's the case, only one Tar Heel was willing to personally admit to bringing a useless item.
"I brought my keyboard because I do some music production at home," said Bryan Bethea, whose brother Chris does production work in Fayetteville. "I thought I would play it to relax but I haven't touched it since I got here. By the time I get back to the dorm, I just want to go to sleep."
Bethea at least gets credit for coming up with an answer. As for Del Roberts, well...
"I've got to give that one some thought," he said. "Tell everybody to keep checking and I'll come up with something for them."
The team moves out of the dorms on August 21. We'll check back with Del before then for the much anticipated answer.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
