THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Carroll: Energy like no other

Early morning, and my pal Sam Lopez was enjoying the peaceful surroundings.

“We were standing outside Heritage Hall at USC, signing in with a secretary,” Lopez said. “Suddenly, there was this incredible sound, like the whole place was shaking and people began hollering so loud you couldn’t believe it.”

Lopez asked the staff member what was happening.

“It’s the coaches,” she said. “Getting revved up like they always do.”

The thing is, though, this gang of Southern Cal coaches weren’t firing rockets at each other ahead of a game against Notre Dame or Alabama.

Nope.

They were preparing to work with a couple dozen high school kids — on campus in Los Angeles (by invitation) to work on their skills as quarterbacks and receivers.

“Imagine if they were gearing up for a national championship,” Lopez said of the coaching staff. “I asked the lady at the sign-in table how the coaches could be so worked up, especially so early in the morning.

“She told me: ‘It’s Pete Carroll. Nobody has energy like Pete, and it rubs off. It really, really rubs off.’ “

Lopez was making that visit to USC two decades ago because his son, Kyle, was a freshman quarterback at Merced High in central California.

SAM SAID he and Kyle had no clue exactly what to expect when visiting a big-time football program. 

“I just knew Kyle had a strong arm and the USC staff was interested in working with him. “But, honestIy, I thought we’d just get left on a back field somewhere and forgotten about. There were quarterbacks and wideouts there from all over the

country.”

They certainly weren’t thinking they’d hang out with Carroll and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, or seeing Kyle throw passes around with Trojan first-teamers — including future Heisman Trophy Award winner Matt Leinart.

Sarkisian even got Kyle involved in some fun with the USC quarterbacks, after Carroll had noted the young man’s arm (his LEFT arm) and turned him over to Sark.

That led to a bit of banter, when Sarkisian brought Kyle into the Trojan group and said, “Matt, I’ve got another lefty here who throws harder than you do.”

Sam recalls that the time with those USC players as one of Kyle’s thrills as a prep athlete.

And one of his — a dad meeting coaches and players in one-on-one exchanges.

Sam was especially taken with Carroll, who was in the middle of a run at USC that included a national championship — and led to his next gig with the Seahawks.

“Pete didn’t act like any kind of big shot or anything like it,” Sam said.

“Here I was, a lifetime sports junkie from Fresno, making a living in commercial insurance. 

“I mean, you don’t think you’re going to be having a personal conversation with Pete Carroll, and he’ll treat you like a friend.

“I wish I’d have been a high school recruit. I’d have signed right there — and signed Kyle, and my wife, and my dog.

“That’s the impression Pete Carroll has on people, and it is totally sincere.

“Totally.”

THE USC contingent told Sam and Kyle that they’d like to have him come back to camp again the following summer – and sure enough, they got an invitation.

“The second year, we’d have gotten down there if we had to walk,” Sam said with a laugh. “As much as we enjoyed it, though, and Kyle got to throw with some nationally known receivers, there was one evening that left an impression on me forever.

“The staff was done with workouts with the prep kids, and film sessions, or whatever the coaches were doing with the USC players. We’re talking about the end of a long day.”

Totally by accident, Sam and Kyle ran into Carroll and one of his assistants.

They were leaving campus, so out of polite curiosity, Sam asked if they were finished, and finally headed out for dinner.

“Pete said no, that they were going to South Central (a rugged, often dangerous neighborhood adjacent to USC).

“He told us that coaching young people for so long, it really stuck with him that as many kids as possible should get a fair chance in life.

“So, he had started visiting South Central, even though it was a little scary at first — until eventually, the neighborhood kids got to know him.

“Pete and whatever assistants who went with him weren’t recruiting, or looking for any goals beyond making connections and showing the local kids some adult friendship.

“There was no media, no publicity, just the coach spending time in the neighborhood.” 

When word came down this week that Carroll would no longer be coaching the Seahawks, Sam said he was sad at first.

“Then I thought, whatever he does will work out. “Anyone who meets Pete Carroll and spends 15 minutes with him – if that person doesn’t like Pete, you’re talking about someone with a real problem.”

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”