With April Fools’ Day in the rearview mirror, some Ohio coaches took time out of their days to discuss the ideas of swapping teams with another Bobcat.
Baseball is the only sport in which the coach dresses the same as his players. Coach Joe Carbone took that into consideration when he was asked which Bobcat coach he would choose to lead his team for a day. After a moment of internal deliberation, Carbone was sure of his answer.
“I think it would be coach (Joel) Greenlee,” Carbone said about Ohio’s wrestling coach. “I’d just like to see what he looks like in a baseball uniform.”
In response, Greenlee was confident in his ability.
“I don’t know if we’d win or not, but we’d sure be tough and aggressive,” he said. “We might run into a few people or slide into a few people.”
The playful retort was one of many interesting answers that other Ohio coaches offered. Some took the inquiry more seriously than others, one needed extra time to think, and another was eager to make the fantasy a reality. But from all the answers, the theme of mutual respect shined through.
Greenlee was sure that football coach Frank Solich’s intensity on the gridiron would aid the wrestling squad.
“I think he’s still tough enough to get on the mat with the guys and wrestle,” Greenlee said.
Soccer coach Stacy Strauss decided she would hand the whistle to Carbone for a day if the opportunity arose.
“He played soccer in high school, and he has some brilliant ideas about how to score more goals,” Strauss said. Leaving a cliffhanger equivalent to that of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, she would not reveal her candidate’s ideas.
Meanwhile on the court, volleyball coach Ryan Theis could not decide on one coach to lead his squad for a day. Instead, he picked Greenlee and Carbone.
“It’s just such a different world (with Greenlee) that I think it would be pretty funny,” Theis said. Of Carbone, he said, “I think that would be pretty entertaining for our team.”
Pondering the possibility of taking the reins from Theis for a match, Carbone was unsure of how his talents on the diamond would translate.
“I’m a guy that argues with umpires,” Carbone said. “I would probably be out there making a complete fool of myself arguing with the officials because I still don’t know the rules.”
Cross-country and track coach Clay Calkins also picked Carbone after taking time to gather his thoughts.
“He runs a tight ship there with his team, and he’s had a lot of experience in the coaching realm,” Calkins said. “I think he would be a great guy to fill in for a day.”
Adding up the tallies, Carbone and Greenlee’s entertainment factor and work ethic garnered the most love from their peers. But it would be difficult to discount experience as an influence as well.
Both coaches have been at Ohio for more than 15 years and have compiled impressive resumés with the Bobcats. Carbone is the program’s winningest skipper, while Greenlee led his team to a Mid-American Conference regular-season title during the 2010–11 season.
However, Carbone doesn’t expect the two to switch places any time soon. With a laugh, he tried to make amends for his earlier comment.
“I’d probably look worse in one of the wrestling outfits than (Greenlee) would in the baseball uniform,” he said.
mm938910@ohiou.edu
