If you are in the market to book a vacation, it might not be a bad idea to look up Pittsburg State football tight ends coach John Pierce.
In addition to his coaching duties on the field, it is Pierce who is responsible for making sure that up to 90 players and personnel get to a PSU road football game without problem.
On Friday, his process was put back in motion as the Gorillas departed from the Weede Physical Education Building en route to Edmond, Okla., for Pitt State’s season opener against Central Oklahoma.
But, very few people know just what it takes to get 90 people transported, fed, and housed for a road trip.
“We’ll actually start in the spring and talk to hotels and get transportation lined out,” Pierce said.
He has a checklist made up that includes meals, equipment needed and an overall preliminary itinerary.
“From there, I’ll get together our itinerary and sit down with the head coach and get his input on things he thinks we need to add or subtract,” Pierce said.
After that, before each road trip, Pierce will get the travel party established. For the trip to Edmond, there are 62 players, 18 coaches and various support personnel like trainers. The Gorillas will travel with two buses, which departed Friday afternoon and one additional vehicle that will leave this morning.
“You have to try to be organized and figure out who will go in what vehicle and where they will sit,” Pierce said.
Then, there is the planning process for meals. Since the Gorillas are traveling the day before, there will be dinner Friday night, breakfast on game day and a post game meals before returning home. On the road, Pierce said that he looks for buffets because of the food selection and the price. The Gorillas will try to stay at a “full-service” hotel.
“It makes it easier if you can do everything at one place,” Pierce said.
Needless to say, there is a lot of preparation and organization needed to make the travel arrangements for the Gorillas.
“You’re juggling a lot of different things,” Pierce said. “There’s hotels, travel, meals, and getting all of those arrangements set.”
Some might say that Pierce would make a good travel agent.
“I’m from Vermont and when my family travels back east, it is very easy,” Pierce said. “It’s a lot different when you are dealing with 80-100 people.”
