A college campus with no students is like a freeway with no cars, a mall with no shoppers, a football game with no fans. Students pack up their dirty clothes to bring home and hunt down rides to the airport, looking forward to seeing their friends and family. They make open remarks stating “I don’t know how I’m gonna handle the cold when I go back north.”
But while we all look forward to stuffing our faces with turkey and stuffing and spending Christmas and New Years in our cozy homes, some student athletes must stay behind and endure intense practices on the abandoned campus.
“That’s a tough question,” men’s basketball player Anthony Griffis responded shaking his head with a smile when asked if he regretted not being with his family for the holidays. “I’d like to be but they understand I gotta get work done.”
Griffis, a senior guard from North Carolina, is playing in his second year at Tampa after transferring from Lincoln Trail Junior College. “I haven’t been with my family for the last two years,” Griffis explained. “This team is sorta like my family.”
After finishing last season with a 6-20 overall record, Griffis voiced that this year will be different, as the team has had an influx of new players. “We got a lot more players, some good transfers,” Griffis said before entering a team film session. “We were blown out every game last year, that wasn’t fun for us.”
Griffis says the team is “more committed” this year, and after a 4-0 start his claims seem to be correct.
“We’re a year older and we’ve added three guys that we feel are potentially good players,” Head Coach Richard Schmidt said sitting in his office.
“Got to shoot the ball well, shot terribly all last year.”
The break from school leaves the basketball players as some of only a few residents remaining on campus, allowing the team to build chemistry.
“Coach has us over at his house for a Thanksgiving meal and we go out every once and in a while,” Griffis said. “We just get to know each other better.”
However, the break from schoolwork doesn’t mean a break from practice. During the time off, Coach Schmidt conducts more practices with greater intensity.
“We’ve got to get ready for conference play,” Coach Schmidt said. “We have more time on the court to go and get more work in.”
UT Women also conduct more rigorous practices during the break.
“We can get more intense because the players have no classes or tests,” Women’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Jessee said. “We can be in the gym longer hours and when it’s quieter.”
Coach Jessee explained that when his team practices during a normal school week the noise of sharing the court with men’s basketball and volleyball holds the team back from learning new plays.
“We have nine new players trying to learn a new system. The noise holds us back,” Coach Jessee said. “During the holidays the schedules are staggered so we are the only ones using the court.”
The past few years, around Thanksgiving time, the team travels to different parts of the country for a multi-day basketball tournament. The cities range from San Francisco to Denver. This year the team travelled to San Diego, spending Thanksgiving in California.
“We make a reservation and take the girls out to eat,” Coach Jessee said. “It’s not like mom’s cooking but it does the job.”
Juliana Cavallaro, a freshman guard from Venice, FL, is spending the holidays away from her family for the first time.
“Yeah, this will be my first time away from my family,” Cavallaro said a little surprised at the thought. “I’m excited to be with the team but I’m going to miss my family.”
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Senior Callum Townsend is staying in Tampa for his fourth straight winter. The forward was UT’s second leading scorer last season.
Coach Jessee laments while it’s unfortunate the players can’t be with their families, the trip offers a lasting memory for the team. “Kids who’ve graduated remember the trips,” Coach Jessee said. “Some of them get to see snow for the first time. The four trips end up being lasting memories.”
With nine new players on the team, the 3000-mile trip allows for a unique chemistry building experience. “Without a doubt it helps build chemistry,”Coach Jessee said. “They spend several days of quality time together.”
Heading into this holiday season, both teams are looking forward to improving for the spring.
“We don’t wanna go through what we went through last year,” said Griffis.
“I love competing,” Cavallaro said with a big smile as she sat in her sweat pants and sweater, fresh out of a three-hour evening practice and film session. “I love winning and I love seeing hard work pay off.”
Both basketball teams tip off SSC play Jan. 5 against Rollins.
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