Friday, January 29, 2010

Last Weekend of Recruiting




Tim Pfennig and I will be meeting with recruits tomorrow morning as we approach signing day this next Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

The amount of recruits are starting to dwindle, but not the quality. We have some really good players coming in to see us this weekend.

Tim and I will visit with them for about 15 minutes and we will go over everything we do for them once they are a member of our football team. We talk to them about our extensive maintenance program on their helmets and shoulder pads, along with everything else we do for them.

Then we show them the display of everything they get as a member of the team. They always enjoy that part of the presentation. They always like to try things on, touch and hold the equipment.

Tim and I really enjoy the opportunity to meet these young men, and many times they will have their parents with them as well. We always get many really good questions from the recruits and their parents.

Our coaches are VERY excited about signing day. They feel like this class will be as good or better than all of the other classes that Coach Stoops has brought in during his career here.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Inventory Time

We have been busy for over a week now counting every single item of football equipment in the equipment room.

After each season, we do an extensive inventory of everything. There are several reasons for doing this. One, and most importantly, it is required for auditing purposes. Also, it is essential for ordering for next season and making sure we order the correct amount of items.

In the meantime, I have been visiting with a number of equipment managers around the country that I have admired and respected for years. I am talking with them about how they order certain items. I feel that this is necessary from time to time in order to stay on top of things. It is very easy to get stuck in doing things only one way. I do not do these type of survey questions real often, but I felt now is a good time to look into how others order.

In visiting with these other equipment managers, I have found that we are doing things the same way many other BCS schools do things as well.

After we are done with inventory, we will be placing orders with all of our vendors so we can take delivery come July 1, 2010.

I have received a few emails asking me if I am going to keep the blog going through out the off season. I do plan on blogging from time to time, but it will not be as often as during the season.

I am going to be doing some blogs about things we do in the equipment room. Thank you to all of you that have emailed me with questions and ideas.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Back in the Office and Excited About 2010

Our trip to the AFCA convention in Orlando was a HUGE success! Tim and I returned last night and we are both back in the equipment room today and excited about the 2010 season!

We are about to go to a Team Meeting this afternoon and hear what Coach Stoops has to say. Today is the first day of classes and campus is back to the way it is suppose to be....busy and exciting!

The managers had today off to get things in order, then Tim and I will meet with them tomorrow and get the semester lined up for them. We have a lot of inventorying to do at first.

I hope to blog as much as possible throughout the semester. Thanks again for all the comments sent to me at my email address. I love hearing from each of you!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Headed to Orlando

Tim Pfennig and I will be leaving tomorrow for Orlando, Florida for the annual AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) convention.

While attending the convention, we will also take part in a meeting of Pac 10 Equipment Managers meeting.

Most of the division I equipment managers around the country will be attending the convention. All of the major vendors will be at the convention doing exhibits. One of the major exhibits will be all of the new Nike gear for 2010 season. It will be the first, and only real close look at the new shoe styles. Our order will be due next month, so it is very important to be able to get a look at the shoes.

It is good to see all the new field equipment, especially when our coaches are there to see it too so they can let us know what will work best for them.

We will return next Tuesday evening.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has helped us out this past season. There are so many people that help make our situation here in the equipment room at University of Arizona such a great one.

Today I would like to send a shout out to the vendors that make sure we have the best equipment and service possible. These fine folks treat us like we are the most important equipment managers in the business, and the most important program in the NCAA. We realize we are not, but we sure appreciate how these people treat us and make us feel on a daily basis.

We would like to thank Dan Vooletich and all the others at Riddell for helping us keep our players safe and well protected. Not only do they provide us with the latest and greatest helmet and shoulder pads, but they also recondition our equipment each year and help keep our gear looking nice and new. Each year, Jeff Watson, who is the local Riddell and All American rep, comes in and helps Dan make sure our reconditioning is done correctly. Those two guys work hard to make sure we get the best service.

We would also like to thank Terry Swartz and Patrick Matthews at Nike for keeping our coaches and players in the best shoes and clothes possible. Nike has so many big time accounts, but the way these two guys treat us you would think we were 10 times running National Champions. We really appreciate not only the great gear, but the FIRST CLASS service. I don't know how they do it, but they hit a home run everytime!

A huge thank you goes to United Van Lines local dealer, Horizon Moving here in Tucson that goes way beyond the call of duty to make sure our football equipment is moved to all of our away games and bowl games. Bob Keith and Bob Caprari are not only two great drivers and workers, but they are GREAT guys who love the Wildcats. These guys will do whatever they can to help out our program. We appreciate all that they do and are happy to call them team mates!

We would like to thank Justin Niefer with EvoShield for introducing us to their great product which helps protect our players. Not only is Justin a FIRST CLASS person, he also has some of the best product out there. Our players will not take the field without their EvoShield product. I can not imagine a team not stocking their great product.

A super thank you goes to Julie Turpin at Walt's Distributors here in Tucson. I don't know why she answers the phone when we call? They must not have caller ID. It seems everytime we call her we need stuff yesterday!!! They are without a doubt the best screen printer in Tucson and they treat everyone at McKale, not just the equipment room, like they are their best customer. Did I mention we (ME) are pretty picky too! Wow, thank you just doesn't seem adequate enough for all she and that company does for Wildcat Athletics!

Speaking of quick turnaround and us being picky, we can not thank Chris Calandro at The Big Game enough for turning around painted balls in record time. Seems like we are always in a hurry with these guys. I don't know how Chris remains so nice all the time. Chris and The Big Game are the very best at what they do. I always look forward to seeing him at the AFCA show each January. He is truly one of the great guys in the business.

Another big thank you goes to the absolute best helmet decal man in the world, Chris Willis at Athletic Decals! Once again, when we call Chris with a last minute idea, he makes sure we have it as soon as possible. Not only is his service next to no one else, his quality has always been number one in the industry. I have doing business with Chris for over twenty years and I would NEVER use anyone else. His decals are the best, and in that world, quality counts. Another truly great man in the business. If everyone in the world was like Chris Willis, the world would have ZERO problems! Thanks Chris for all your help over the years.

In more recent time, we have fallen in love with the guys at Olympic Case. We have been having to update some of our trunks and cases over the past year and we have found the best quality, service and friendship in Otis Jackoboice and Ben Stanton. These guys are not only great guys, but they fun to work with and will bend over backwards to help you in anyway! The biggest thing we have found in the last few trunks we have ordered from them is the OUTSTANDING quality that they have in their work. These guys have it all! We are working with them right now on some new trunk designs which will allow us to be much more efficient.

Last, and surely not the least appreciated is Ron Shepro at Buddy's All Stars in Phoenix. As many of you know that are in this business, the local sporting goods guy just isn't the primary guy anymore. Back in the day they were the most important people in the business. The way business is today, we do very little with the local sporting goods store, but you would think we were the most important account in his little black book! Not only is Ron Shepro a hard working sales rep, he is GREAT guy who drops everything he is doing for a small order for the Wildcats. I still think he is a closet Sun Devil too????????? Anyway, he is a great guy and a good friend! Thanks Ron for taking our phone calls!

There are many others that help us out from time to time, and we thank all of you. We couldn't do it without you!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

CONGRATULATIONS Wildcat Basketball

The Equipment Room would like to congratulate Sean Miller and his basketball team on a big win at UCLA today.

I have told everyone I know that Sean Miller and his entire staff and new recruits are the real deal! Not only are they great coaches and great players, but they are FIRST CLASS people, which makes them fit in so well with McKale.

Benny Conger is responsible for Men's Basketball, in addition to Baseball and helping out so much with Football; but kudos must go out to Tom Boesel and Zac Cook for filling in so well for Benny while he was at the bowl game with football.

Benny had constant communication with Ryan Reynolds of Men's Basketball and Ryan said both Tom and Zac were awesome, which I already knew.

Now let's get the Cougars Thursday night in McKale! BEARDOWN

Friday, January 1, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I would like to take this time to wish everyone who reads this blog a very Happy New Year. I hope 2010 is the best year for you and yours.

I would also like to thank everyone of you who has taken the time to email me with questions or words of encouragement about this blog. I really enjoy hearing from each and every one of you. Thank you to those who have talked to me in person. I love hearing from you.

Last of all, I would like to thank all of the AWESOME people that I get to work with on a daily basis. Without these people I would not be able to do this job that I love so much.

HAPPY NEW YEAR