Do you remember the dreaded family road trips when you were younger, where you spent several hours at a time counting the trees that went by before the invention of iPods and television screens inside the minivan?

For most college students, frequent road trips are probably things of the past, but for UNF athletes, road trips are still very much a part of their agenda. We wanted to see what players and coaches do on these long-hour drives to keep from pulling their hair out on a weekly basis, so the head coaches and a couple players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams weighed in with some memories from away-game road trips.

Women’s team:

Mary Tappmeyer:

“I drink a lot of Tab, and typically I watch game films on my laptop. I like to watch scatter reports or the next opponents’ footage. I also like to exercise before the games to clear my mind or get nervous energy out of my system, but I’m not the type of person that can sleep on a bus. We all have a seat to ourselves, which is especially nice so we’re not crammed on a long bus ride to Campbell or ETSU. I’m proud of the girls because nine out of 13 of them were all-academic scholars. I trust that the girls do their schoolwork on the bus, and we do watch a lot of movies. But when the scary movies come on, my iPod goes in.”

Brittany Kirkland:

“Usually our bus rides are about five hours long. If they’re longer, we’ll take a plane. On those rides I like to do light reading, and it’s usually something for class like a textbook so I can keep up with school. On occasion, I do listen to music, which is always rap, gospel or R&B, but you have to stay on top of your grades. We have grade checks every week, but it’s not too hard to make good grades because of study hall, ACE and our coaches helping us. On the road, I like to sit all the way in the back on the bus, but I’ve spilled a couple of my drinks back there because the driver goes too fast.”

Lakira Jones:

“I like the road trips because they’re a good break from school, and right now they’re not overwhelming because it’s only the first week. When they do get long though, you get used to it. For school, it can be hard to devote time to it, but I make sure to get it done. Sleep is big on the road. I make sure to sleep whenever I can, but it’s great time to bond with the team. We have a lot of time to talk and get to know each other better.”

Men’s team:

Matt Driscoll:

“I watch a lot of video and film of either our team or the opponent, and I like to watch SportsCenter, especially the interviews to learn from them. I try to fit in at least two workouts, including as much Dunkin’ Donuts coffee as possible. One time I even jogged to Dunkin’ Donuts to get coffee. I also listen to a little Luther Vandross on my iPod. One of the great things about being on the road is sharing one-on-one time with every player. I always make sure to spend time with every player to see how they and their families are doing, and I always give them a pound when they get off the bus just to make that connection.”

Jerron Granberry:

“It’s very draining sitting for long hours, and sometimes it can get real crowded. We’re almost all over six feet tall, and that’s a lot to fit on one bus. It’s easy to keep up with schoolwork. I bring my laptop on every trip, and the coaches make sure before we get on the bus that we have all our books and our laptops. They know about all of our assignments that are due. There is also a lot of time to sleep and watch movies. I especially like to sleep a lot, and it gives us a lot of bonding time. The road trips give us time to talk as a team.”

Stan Januska:

“I like the road tips because it’s good down time. I shoot around a lot on the day of a game. I like to eat a lot, and I make sure to get some rest. SportsCenter is almost always on. Schoolwork is not that bad right now, which is nice. It gives me more time to get ready for the opponent. But when it comes to schoolwork, it’s better to get ahead and stay on top of it. There are disadvantages though, such as missing classes, make-up tests or reviews, but that doesn’t happen too often. We meet with professors beforehand to make sure we stay ahead and don’t fall behind. Between listening to [my] iPod and watching movies or past games, there’s always something to do.”