Road trips are no vacation for Robert Rush.
But then home hockey series aren’t exactly a picnic for the longtime Air Force Academy equipment manager either.
In season, Rush’s roles expand exponentially, but as he enters his 17th campaign with the Falcons hockey team he takes all the chaos in stride.
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It would be fantastic if he could compartmentalize his job, but he can’t. Skates don’t stop needing to be sharpened, laundry perpetually seems to need to be done, and something – jersey, sock, pad – always needs a repair or replacement. In a way it’s like parenting or owning a house.
There is no place like home
The equipment fraternity looks after its own.
Case in point, for every Falcons opponent not named Colorado College or Denver, which add very little extra work due to their proximity and the fact the Falcons usually only play them one game at a time, Rush essentially has a third game day. Visiting teams typically practice late Thursday afternoon at Cadet Arena. In advance of that, Rush and his student assistants have to prepare their locker room and then collect laundry afterward.
That’s just the warm-up act, however.
“Fridays and Saturdays are long days,” Rush explains. “Friday I’m usually here by 6 in the morning getting all the laundry ready and out because we have players that skate at noon. Our guys are down here by 11 for meetings and a meal.
Robert Rush has to be at the ready during games, when he can go from spectator to Mr. Fix-It in an instant. Photo courtesy of Air Force Athletics
“The guys who don’t dress that night are usually skating while guys are eating so I have to get their stuff ready.
“Then once everybody’s out of here, I have some cadet managers that work with me. We start getting ready for the game, stocking the fridges with drinks, getting the snacks, the jerseys and the socks out.
“We get the skates ready – we have two sets (of blades), a practice set and a game set. Friday I put their game sets in so they have fresh edges on them for the game.
“I do a lot of skate sharpening. I put my headphones on and that’s kind of my alone time.”
Here is another example where technology meets opportunity.
“Their practice set becomes their backup set during the game in case someone loses an edge or something happens, I just pop that blade out and put the other set in,” Rush says. “It’s like NASCAR now. Before Bauer came out with (their LightSpeed holder, which features quickly interchangeable blades), if a kid lost an edge, they’d have to take their skate off, I would run back and sharpen it, run back out there and the kid would have to put the skate on and lace it back up on the bench. He’s probably losing two or three shifts in that time.
“Now we just pop them out and put another set in. … I have everyone’s backup set hanging on the bench right behind me.”
The locker room setup commences once the players depart for their pregame naps. No detail is spared – equipment is double checked and helmets are shined. By late afternoon, Rush and his crew can exhale and take a short break. He’s available on an as-needed basis once the players return at 5.
There are always exceptions, of course. Take goaltenders for example.
“I usually let them do their own thing,” Rush says. “We hang their jersey and put their socks out but anything else I let them take care of.
“We’ve had some kids who had some funny quirks. (Former goaltender) Andrew Volkening was one. He only did his laundry on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He only got his skates sharpened on Thursday. He wore a plain white helmet.
“When we’re on the road, and I didn’t know this, he would lay his bag on the ground and his pads next to it. Everyone left so I put his pads on top of his bag. He politely let me know the next day, please don’t do that.
“They all have their little routines.”
Once the game begins, Rush is in ready mode but not overdrive.
“I’m just a spectator unless something happens that needs to be fixed,” he says.
Upon the conclusion of the game, Rush’s night still has at least a period, or two, to go.
“I’ve got to do our laundry and jerseys, and the visiting team’s laundry and jerseys,” he says. “Friday night usually goes until about 2-2:30 a.m. Saturday I’m back between 7-8 a.m. The guys usually are back here at 10:30 a.m. We have a meeting at 11 a.m. and then we start the whole process all over again.
“Saturday we’ll get some stuff that needs to be washed washed, get some stuff hung up. We’re usually out of here by midnight.”
If you’re keeping track, Friday is a 20-hour day and Saturday could last another 17 hours. And we haven’t even talked about food, yet.
“I’m responsible for all of the meals at home – the pregame and the postgame meals,” Rush says. “I have it catered here and make sure it’s paid for.”
On Fridays, the players usually have a buffet in the back hall by the locker room. On Saturday, Rush will have to-go containers at the ready.
“By that point most of them just want to shower and get out of here,” he says.
In light of that, going on the road must be a huge relief. … Think again.
MORE: Falcons open season Oct. 7
Taking the show on the road
A week with a road hockey series might not be as labor intensive on Friday and Saturday because host schools in Atlantic Hockey take care of laundry, but the planning and preparation earlier the week rises to another level.
“It’s a really big challenge for us because we’re out East every other weekend,” Rush says. “So we’re flying. I do a lot of logistics with UPS. My skate sharpener, my glove dryers – those aren’t supplied in Atlantic Hockey (unlike most other leagues).
“Usually on Monday or Tuesday I’ll send that stuff out – two glove dryers, a skate sharpener. Erik Marsh, our trainer, has a recovery bag with rollers and stuff they use after games. I’ll have a bag of fans we use to dry stuff out in the locker room after the game. Marshy has another bag. Most of that I send out with UPS, either to the hotel or the rink. I want it there Thursday morning when we get there.
“There’s been a few times because of snow storms it didn’t make it.”
Commercial airlines either won’t let the Falcons transport the extra cargo or will charge them an arm and a leg to do so, thus Blue’s reliance on Brown.
Rush isn’t done there, however.
“I’ve got a couple of cases I bring with us just in case,” he says. “I’ve got what I call a ghost box. It’s got everything I need in case a kid forgets something or something happens to equipment (think a portable hockey pro shop with a range of sizes). I have to pack tape (20 rolls of clear, black and white each), extra steel and extra Tuuks (holders) in case someone’s breaks.”
Players bring two pairs of skates and pack three sticks each, a total Rush matches in a separate bag.
The prep work of Rush and Marsh gets immeasurably easier if the Falcons can take a military flight to their destination.
“It’s a lot easier because we can bring everything with us,” he explains. “We used to get it a lot, but this year we didn’t because I think a lot of the training hours were used up during hurricane relief.
“We can take as much stuff as we want.”
Because of the distance the Falcons have to travel for every AHC road series (Robert Morris in Pittsburgh is the closest at nearly 1,500 miles), they typically fly out Wednesday after class. Upon landing they go to the hotel for a meal, study time and sleep. Rush also has made hotel arrangements (as well as the road meals).
Thursday morning is move-in day at the rink, where Rush strives to make the visiting locker room as much of a home away from home as possible before a Thursday afternoon practice.
“(Prep time) is a bit less because the home team takes care of our laundry needs. (On Fridays) I get all of ours together and give it to them, so we’re out by 10-10:30 p.m.”
Saturdays provide a bit of a respite – “I’ll get to the rink around noon because all I have to worry about is our locker room.”
That is not to say the road trips – and the dirty laundry that flies back with the Falcons – aren’t without their hurdles.
“It’s a challenge to keep everything dry,” Rush says. “You go out East, it’s humid, it’s cold, some of the rinks are freezing. You spend all day getting gloves dry, skates dry, equipment dry.”
Still, it pales in comparison to the upside for Rush and his fellow Falcons staffers.
The rewards are many
“The best part is hanging around with the kids,” Rush says. “I joke around with them. We have a great bunch. The whole group of people is fun to be around, especially when you’re winning.”
And when you’re not?
“Sometimes when you’re losing you just want to back away from the staff, let them do their thing,” Rush added.
Game nights rank right up there for the long-time equipment man, too.
“When you go out for a game and look into the stands, you see the crowd and how they’re enjoying the game,” he said. “You see people you know.”
Rush pauses before completing his thought.
“Seeing the little kids by the walkway giving the players high fives (as they come on the ice), it just makes you happy. It’s a great game.”
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