Reports from the road: Larry McCoy

As a student-athlete, one of the things I enjoy is traveling to away games. You get to experience new cities you've never been to and different campus environments.

For many trips either by bus or plane, we start early in the morning on Fridays. This weekend, we were fortunate to fly all the way to Albany, N.Y. I woke up around 6 a.m. after a night of getting some homework out of the way.

The nice thing about flying is we have your own plane with just the team. We get dropped off on the runway, which enables us to pass through security efficiently.

We landed in Albany around 10 a.m. and then headed to the field for our walk-through on the opponent's field. The walk-through is a good way to go over any adjustments needed for the game and also to get a good feel for the surface or environment we'll be playing in.

Later on, at the hotel, we all gather together to have a team dinner. After our team dinner, we separate into our groups: offense, defense and special teams. In these meetings, we watch film and do any further adjustments the coaches may want to cover in order to prepare.

After we are all released, we have time to rest and focus on the game. Friday night, sitting in the hotel, the only thing we can possibly do is watch TV and think about the game that is only hours away, constantly running plays through our thoughts and envisioning ourselves making plays to help the team.

On game day, we wake up early and have a team breakfast. On the way to the game, everyone is mostly quiet and keeps to themselves, focusing on their responsibilities. It feels like the night just ran into the morning with continuous thoughts of executing and leaving everything out on the field.

Minutes before game time, I feel like everything has come down to this very moment that's about to take place. Minutes feel like hours waiting for that first kick off of the game. But by the time the game is over, it is a blur, going by faster than I thought possible. We have sweat, bumps, bruises, aches and pains as a reminder of what we just battled through.

After the game, we all shower and pack up our travel bags, and then it is off to the buses. We are provided with a post-game meal; this weekend it was hoagies and Powerade.

Finally, we head back to the airport, and it's like a repeat of Friday morning, passing through security and climbing the stairs to our quiet charter plane to fly home.  

Sometimes life on the road can take a lot out of me with traveling arrangements and long hours, but the reward of having the opportunity to play in a college football game with my teammates and my best friends while representing Duquesne University makes it all worth it.