Gamecocks’ Shane Beamer doesn’t have time for sleep as he works to repair struggling football team
COLUMBIA — Shane Beamer said that he got home from a feeble loss at LSU and walked into his house, but couldn’t go to bed right away. Business — which later became the removal of offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley — required a phone call to boss Jeremiah Donati despite the 4 a.m. hour.
But he racked out after that. Only to be back in the office, as he said, after about an hour of sleep.
It was 5 p.m. when he said that. Meaning he’d been working since around 6 a.m. on 60 minutes of shuteye.
How?
On the Ed Orgeron Red Bull diet? A standing order at Starbucks like Dan Campbell, which is at least three times the FDA’s recommended daily amount of caffeine (and that’s just his morning drink)? Channeling Ben from “Veep” with his trusty blue coffee mug, capable of holding nine cups?
According to those around him, none of the above. While some would grouse these days, with USC in the middle of a 3-4 season and about to host No. 4 Alabama, that Beamer should be working overtime considering he has at least 8.15 million reasons to do so, it does cross the lines of biology about how he’s able to function.
It’s … coaching.
“Just a long season, and you’ve got to take care of your body. I could sleep in an extra hour, but instead, I choose to come in and work out every morning at 6 a.m. during the season,” Beamer said. “Hopefully, from a physical standpoint, that keeps me where I’m going, and making sure that when I do get home at night, I’m not sitting up all night watching television. I’ll try and see my family if they’re still awake, and then get to sleep.”
Sure.
But … an hour?
“Beamer, he’s always energetic,” offensive lineman Tree Babalade said. “He’s the first one in the building so he’s always ahead of us.”
Stories and other tales have always abounded about how organized and energetic Beamer is, but the stimulant-free ability to ignore the body’s natural need for sleep is creating a new chapter. Then again, with the Gamecocks mired in a slide where they can’t score points and thus can’t win games, any minute spent with eyes shut is wasted.
“He’s in the building a lot, working out with (senior associate strength coach Chip) Morton. I think that’s pretty cool, that motivates a bunch of us in the building to make sure we’re taking care of our bodies and mental health and all that stuff,” defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “It does help when your head coach is a guy that works out because now you don’t have a guilt trip about being out of the office for 30 minutes to go get you a walk, walk to the stadium and back, get a workout.
“I have not seen him tired.”
Warren Zevon said he’d sleep when dead and the man who hired Beamer, Ray Tanner, always said he had to “sleep fast” when he was in the throes of a coaching search. Beamer got home after a night kick at LSU and plane delays but the next game, last week hosting Oklahoma, began at 12:45 p.m.
OK, traffic from the State Fair didn’t help Beamer getting home, but he was still there around 6:30 p.m. Grill a burger and hit the hay?
“I watched football, then sat outside on my back porch and built a fire and watched football games all night outside,” Beamer said. “It’s not like you can just take a day and say, ‘I’m going to sleep til nine today and catch up.’ You really can’t. You’re back at it today.”
He pointed out that there are probably a lot of coaches across the country who are dealing with it. And all have to be sure they aren’t grinding themselves to dust.
“Honestly, I don’t notice it. I think that’s a good thing,” center Boaz Stanley said. “I didn’t know that he doesn’t sleep a lot, but he doesn’t show it. He always has energy.”
It won’t stop, can’t stop, now. Not when the Gamecocks need it most.
