Co4DkhAUMAACNRP.jpg

Oregon State's equipment staff loads the trucks for the Beavers' trip to Bend to open fall camp.

(Photo courtesy of OSU athletics)

BEND -- Steve McCoy and his 12 Oregon State equipment staffers gathered together Friday afternoon and finally took a collective breath.

They had spent months meticulously preparing for when the Beavers opened fall camp at Summit High School. They had spent 2 1/2 days loading three tractor-trailers and one flat-bed truck with all the necessities for a Division I football program, then another day-and-a-half unloading those materials in Bend.

Beavers coaches and players have outlined the benefits of starting camp away from Corvallis, from building camaraderie to avoiding the ongoing construction of the Valley Football Center. But just getting to the other side of the Cascades has been a demanding task largely performed by some of the program's most important behind-the-scenes leaders.

"We just all stopped and we all just kind of looked at each other like, 'I think we did it. I think we're here.'" McCoy recalled. "It was amazing, the relief. You don't know how much you really do until you sit back and look at it and say, 'We just pulled a pretty big thing off.'"

McCoy's crew is used to packing and moving bundles of equipment for road games, of course. But not

this

much, with the Beavers putting roots down in Bend for a week during the crucial initial practices of the new season.

So figuring out how to most efficiently transport the entire football operation to Bend has been one of McCoy's biggest priorities since the idea was first put on the table four or five months ago. And making that even more challenging was that the equipment staff -- like virtually the entire football program -- has spent the summer displaced from their normal offices while construction workers overhaul the Beavers' facility.

Associate athletic director for football operations Zach Nyborg spearheaded meetings with staffers ranging from coaches to athletic trainers to video coordinators to determine the long list of equipment needed in Bend. McCoy and other staffers then toured the facilities at Summit High School in early June, before returning to Corvallis to re-tool their plan.

From there, the work turned to logistics and labor.

Two semi trucks carried an estimated 44,000 pounds of Nike apparel -- including nearly 500 pairs of shoes -- to outfit almost 200 players, coaches and other team personnel. Practice equipment like sleds and tackling dummies also made the trip from Corvallis.

"Yeah, we brought a lot of stuff," McCoy said with a smile.

Because of the tight temporary setup on campus, McCoy's crew used the maintenance staff's shop on the west side of Reser Stadium and the parking lot to organize and load from Monday through Wednesday. Then they continuously unloaded in Bend from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday, and went back to work starting at 6:30 a.m. before the Beavers' first practice.

Yet by Saturday afternoon, Summit High's wrestling room looked like a makeshift equipment room, with boxes, plastic drawers and trunks lining the walls. Just beyond the football stadium, three rooms were stuffed with 58,500 bottles of Gatorade and water. When everything was unpacked, the only item they had forgotten was a pack of red sharpies for labeling.

McCoy knows this process will run smoother should the Beavers decide to return to Bend next year. By then, they'll be occupying a spacious new equipment room in the Valley Football Center and will have learned from any mistakes made during this first trip.

And after taking a collective breath with his staff Friday afternoon, McCoy is happy to be settled in Bend for the week.

"If the head coach is happy that his team is performing and the players are comfortable and playing well, it's worth it," McCoy said. "That's our job. That's who we are.

"We just want to make sure that the plan that the head coach and the athletes and all the assistant coaches are trying to execute, that we give them what they need to do it."

--

|