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Friday, September 26, 2008

Every Friday night, for at least 10 weeks each fall, football players for Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins strap on their pads, lace up their shoes, put in their mouth pieces and don their respective jerseys. But if not for coaches John Arnett and Mike Quinn, games would be lucky to start on time, if at all.

Between Arnett and Quinn, the duo possess a collective 28 years worth of experience handling the equipment duties at Central and North.

Arnett has taken care of the equipment for 18 years under coach Rick Snodgrass, while Quinn has worked as a North assistant coach for 13 years, in equipment for the last 10 and been with several head coaches, including current coach Will Weaver.

“Coach Weaver is my seventh head coach since I’ve been here,” Quinn said. “It seems like every time, ‘Who took care of equipment?’ Everybody goes, ‘Quinn.’ Then, ‘Hey, coach can you do it again?’ It’s good, I enjoy it. It’s something different.”

For Arnett, he has worked only for Snodgrass, going back to the days of football at South Hopkins.

“I’ve been here for so long, it’s just routine,” Arnett said. “I know what we need and I know what we’ve got in the building and the equipment room. (Players) ask if we have some pads, and I’ll say, ‘No, we’ve got plenty of these put back or those put back,’ so they won’t go look for it, they’ll just find me.”

Although Quinn’s assistant coach duties take him to the press box during games, Arnett remains in the trenches to coach the offensive line.

“Game time, it gets pretty hectic,” Arnett said. “Somebody’s helmet strap, chin snap breaks, or a button comes off, snap comes off and I’m trying to get it fixed, and I’m trying to tell the O-lineman what to do and they’re yelling for me and I’m trying to go two places at once.”

Having a dependable person like Arnett allows Snodgrass to concentrate on the X’s and O’s rather than missing equipment.

“It just takes a lot of pressure off us,” Snodgrass said. ‘When the game comes around we know that everything is going to be there so we can focus on the game and not have to worry about not having water bottles, football, towels, kicking tees, extra stuff if some kid forgets something. He’s done it for awhile and he’s got a system that he uses.”

While Arnett and Quinn may head the equipment operation, each employs the work of many others to keep things running smoothly.

At North, Quinn makes announcements over the public address system to recruit student equipment managers, but sometimes he’ll get a football player or two with the request.

“There’s been some kids that come out and say, ‘Hey this looks like kind of fun,’” he said. “Instead of being manager, next year they come out and play.

“Some kids are not too sure if they really would like it or not, then they see what’s going on, especially when they see the hitting they kind of get excited. Then you also see the other aspect, ‘No, I think I’m better off on the sideline.’”

Quinn also encourages injured football players to help out when they cannot suit up.

North sophomore Dylan Buchanan, a right tackle, has aided the team this fall as he recovers from a knee injury.

“Anything I can do to help the team right now until I get better,” Buchanan said of his role. “Just getting some ice for the guys, getting a cup of water, wrapping them if they need it.”

When injured players work behind the scenes, Quinn said they get a better appreciation for the managers who perform the “dirty work.”

“They understand that it’s not as easy as they think it is or enjoyable,” he said. “It’s just like being out on the football field during practice sometimes. They have a dirty job there, too, and it’s not the most exciting thing, but it has to be done for the program to be successful.”

With both managers and players putting in equal effort, although in different areas, Quinn said it’s important to let the student managers know they are just as key to the team as any other entity.

“If you don’t have the equipment, you can’t play,” he said. “It’s like we tell them, no matter what, the managers are just like the players and coaches, we respect everybody in the program. They’re part of the team and that’s how you look at it. They may not be the players, but they are part of the team and for us to be successful everyone has to work together.”

Equipment managers at North receive full benefits of being a Maroon football player, including wearing jerseys on Friday nights. They also eat with the players during team meals and receive “goody bags” on Wednesdays, provided by the booster club to athletes and managers.

Troyanna Hardy, who is a senior goalkeeper for the Lady Maroons soccer team, said there are other perks as well.

“I don’t have to pay (to go to the game), that’s a big one,” she said. “You get to hear what the coaches are saying to them and what they’re really thinking and how they’re feeling, emotions and stuff. It’s a lot better.”

Hardy said she got involved this season because her friend, Barrett McCracken, was helping the team. They fill up water bottles and hand water to the players during timeouts in addition to other tasks.

“If they need something minor like a band aid or to get something taped up, I can help with that,” Hardy said.

Central’s Nathan Crick expressed his gratitude for those that bring water to the players and take care of the laundry.

“I’m really grateful for it, because sitting on the sideline you can’t hardly even get up and somebody just brings you a water whenever you need it,” he said. “After the game, we just take our jerseys and throw them in a big pile and they’ll wash it all for us.”

Although Quinn relies on a lot of student help, at Central Arnett has hired some former players to help assume some of his responsibilities.

Arnett said he receives a lot of aid from coaches Zach Hibbs, David Solomon and Steven Woods, who help do laundry at the team’s athletic complex.

Former player Adam Riggs, a 2004 Central graduate, also helps by doing the Storm’s film work. Riggs films each of the team’s games and the coaches use it to break down plays as well as trade with other schools.

Central also utilizes the services of one very important student helper, senior Brianna Cobb.

“She’s been with us for quite some time,” Snodgrass said. “She’s done a great job. She’s been here since she was a freshman. She sees to it that things are folded and put up, game uniforms and things like that.

“She sees that water is out for games and practices. She does a great job of that and we feel very fortunate to have her.”

When it comes to baseball and soccer, Central junior Bree Wells handles all managing duties.

Although Wells used to be a cheerleader, she said she enjoys the freedom of being a student manager.

“I like to be a spectator more than a participant,” she said, “and I have a lot of things to do outside of school, so I can’t make it to every one of the ballgames. Like for cheerleading they have to go football and basketball, so I don’t have time for that. With this, I can manage time.”

Wells, who grew up with two brothers, said picking up after boys is not a new experience, and she appreciates the players’ gratitude for her work.

“They really treat me good and with respect actually,” she said. “It’s just like being on the girls team, except for the nasty bathrooms. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.”

Another female, Shawna Patterson, played a vital role for Quinn and the Maroons.

Patterson helped as a equipment manager at North for four years and used her experience as a resume-builder for college.

“She’s leaning toward going into some type of training, athletic training, because of what she did here with the football team,” Quinn said.

For Snodgrass, he said he’s thankful for all those who help run the equipment operation at Central.

“It takes a whole group effort to choreograph these things, and you know those guys are going to be there and do a good job so you don’t have to worry about that stuff,” he said.

Snodgrass has reason to be thankful for having Arnett in particular and even got a preview of what it would be like without his help when Arnett missed two Central scrimmage games this summer.

“I had kidney stones, I was in the hospital so they all took over and it was killing them trying to get everything lined up,” Arnett said. “They weren’t sure what they all needed and they even called me at the hospital wanting to make sure.”

Luckily for the Storm, Arnett has healed in time to retain his equipment duties.

Whether it’s Arnett or Quinn, neither program, Central or North, wants to imagine having to pick up the responsibilities of these two men who quietly hold the program together so others can concentrate on the game at hand.