by 3manweave » Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:56 pm
[March 24th, 2015 - Cale's office, Kansas City, MO (8:45 AM)]
The last three days since I won the national junior college title have been a blur. With several appearances on local radio and a piece in the Wichita paper about my time in Italy and my travels abroad in the last few days, it was tiring juggling recruiting and the day-to-day operations of the program. It never stops, I tell you. In fifteen minutes, I was scheduled to have an end-of-season meeting with my lead assistant, Gene Splicer, and exit interviews with players getting their associates' degrees. But right now, I just wanted to eat my Taco Bell breakfast, watch some TV, and then start my day.
I flipped on MLB Network (I'm a big Royals fan) to catch spring training highlights. I had unwrapped the breakfast burrito from the packaging and was preparing to take a bite when my phone rang. It was Sharpe, whom I haven't heard from since he left me a congratulatory voice mail after the championship game a few days ago. It was my agent, Sharpe Speer. "Sharpe, my man, what's going on at this hour?" I said, picking up the phone.
"Cale, you're not going to believe this, but there's an opening on the Missouri staff with their lead assistant taking a year off to help care for a very ill child," he said. "They've been calling around to see if there would be any interest, and so far, they're pretty light on interest. Would this be something you'd be interested in?"
I pulled the phone away from my ear and began fist-pumping. "Of course, let's make it happen," I said as I put the phone back to my ear. I knew I wasn't going to get the head coaching job there at this point, but it has been a dream of mine to coach at Mizzou in any capacity -- I grew up in the shadow of the university, following the program religiously. I had an offer to walk-on there after high school, but UMKC came calling with a fully paid-for education -- there wasn't going to be any saying no to that coming from a small mid-Missouri town, but remained a fan and still followed the program throughout my college career.
"Good. I'll get back with them, and I'll let you know later today what they say." He said. "No guarantees, but this may be the break you've been looking for. You and I have talked about this for a long time."
"You got that right, thanks. I have a meeting right now, so call back around eleven to noon. I should be free by then," I said. "Thanks, Sharpe."
As we exchanged good-byes, today's spring training scores flashed across the screen. "Damn, they lost 5-4," I muttered under my breath; referring to the Royals as I took another bite of my burrito. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. Seeing it was Gene, I motioned for him to come in and he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Always smiling and enjoying life, he didn't have his usual sunny disposition when I took a look at him.
"You okay, Gene?" I said. Gene was actually the guy I took over for two years ago; he's an older gentleman in his late sixties that didn't want to deal with the head coaching grind anymore. However, he still wanted to contribute, and thought a younger guy could take the reins while he took on a "mentor" role. He also was the one who interviewed me for the job. He's been an assistant at the D-I level, so he's a wealth of knowledge for me and has become a good friend also.
"Cale, before we get started, I have to level with you...I'm retiring," he began. "For the past few years, I've noticed some things about my thought processes in daily and coaching life. Recently, I've been going to doctors, and after running various tests, they believe I'm in the early stages of Alzheimer's. It's not a solid diagnosis at this point, but I just want to enjoy whatever time I have left with my wife and grandkids regardless of how it turns out."
He paused before continuing. "You're a great young kid and you're going to do great things in this business." He began to choke back tears. "I sat in my car for the past twenty minutes, still trying to decide it's what I want to do. It's a decision that I've been grappling with for weeks now." He's hidden his pain well, I had no idea. He continued on.
"It's not fair to not only myself and my family, but to you as well. You need a guy that's going to be here. But I'd like to help you find another assistant...that will be my parting gift. I know some people around the area that would love to get a start in this business that I can call."
"I'd like that," I said. "Would you like to stay and have a cup of coffee...just talk about life, anything in general? I've always considered you a good friend. Look, before you go...I have to tell you something too. There's a chance I'll be interviewing at Mizzou for their open assistant job. From what I've been told, it's not the lead assistant job, but it's a start. I feel like I'm a longshot for it."
"What do you mean, open job? What happened?" he asked. "When did you find out about this?"
"My agent called me right before you came in. One of their assistants is taking a leave for this year to help care for one of their sick children. They're doing a search for someone to take over," I said. "I don't know if it's just for one year, or if it has a chance to become something longer term. He's apparently been an assistant under their head coach for awhile, so I'm leery of taking it if I'm offered. But it's Mizzou...I've made it clear that's a goal of mine, maybe THE goal."
"Well, best of luck to you kid...with how bad they've been the past handful of years, I'd be wary of going there, no matter how bad you want to be there." He said and then paused before going on.
"I had better get going, my wife is in the car. Here's my letter of resignation," he said as he handed me an envelope. "Make sure it gets to Tom, and he can sign off on it. He's the only other guy that knows, so he's expecting it later on." Tom was our AD, Tom Myers. "We're flying out to Hawaii this afternoon. Let's get that coffee when I get back, OK?" I nodded and shook his hand. "Gene, you've been a great friend and a hell of a coach. Best of luck to you in fighting this terrible condition, if it's indeed what it is." He nodded as well, and turned and left.
A few moments after Gene walked out the door, my phone buzzed on my desk. It was a text from Sharpe. It read:
"I got you an interview w/Mizzou April 5th in Indianpolis at St. Elmo's. 8 Pm. Also Mcgee resigned as an assistant at Umkc." That could only mean one thing -- I was going to the Final Four!
Last edited by
3manweave on Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:02 am, edited 2 times in total.