Coming soon: Stories from hoops road trips (and more)

There was the story about the basketball coach who got konked on the head by a falling clipboard.

There’s another one about the cheeseburger and milkshake that plopped into the lap of a coach, after the food items accidentally (?) fell from upstairs.

Then there was the coach who got excited over a play and jumped up — then looked down to see a pencil sticking into his hand, lead first.

And there was the then-young coach who asked the opposing coach — who had far more experience at the time — for a little help with his player that suffered a dislocated finger.

And there were countless stories about bus trips that didn’t quite go as planned.

And, oh yeah, some interesting tales involving coaches and basketball officials.

OVER THE last month, through phone conversations and emails, coaches past and present helped me out by describing life on the road as a basketball coach in North Idaho — where even the shortest road trips can be long.

They told of buses that broke down, buses that hit animals, buses that had to weather the ... uh, weather.

They told me of interesting encounters with officials. I wasn’t asking for them to pick their favorites and their not-so-favorites, but more like some funny and/or bizzarre situations that took place during games. And the coaches didn’t disappoint.

I asked them about other things from road trips that stood out — like quirky gyms. But, mostly, the stories reverted mostly back to bus trips and encounters with refs.

Which was OK.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to share many of those stories with you.

I TRIED to reach out to a cross-section of coaches from as far north as Bonners Ferry, as far south as Lewiston, and several points in between.

If I missed you and you’ve got some good stories to share, shoot me an email or give me a buzz.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.