6 I TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010 Eta- Abby Drey 'Colleglan • enn State football equipment manager Spider Caldwell screws a helmet on Wednesday morning in the Lasch Building. Caldwell spends his days doing everything for the football team rom fixing cleats and sewing jerseys to washing the uniforms after games and organizing the equipment room. Caldwell has been working for PSU football for 20 years. SU equipment Severe scoliosis of the spine hindered Brad "Spider" Caldwell from being an astronaut, but he figured he could settle on working for Mission Control instead When freshman year of college at Penn State Dußois came around, Caldwell found the aerospace engineering courses getting difficult. So when the opportunity came to become a Penn State football student equipment manager at the main campus, Caldwell switched his major to recreation sports management, allowing him to transfer to University Park. From his high school years, Caldwell who has been the Penn State football head equipment man ager since the 2000 season loved the team cama raderie and the sense of belonging the team gave him, something that has never faded. Caldwell was the manager for the baseball, foot ball and wrestling teams while he was a student at Curwensville Area High School in Curwensville, Pa., and Orwig the school's By Brendan Monahan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER r r %t 4, 4.1 W Nh manager driven by camaraderie season workouts Shope threw a helmet to the new student manager and told him to fix its face mask. As he found a spot on the floor to fix the hel met, phones rang. Players walked into the old equipment room. Others walked out. " 'How am I ever going to fit into this rat - race?' " Caldwell said to himself. "Twenty years later, I'm still here." He fit in fine. He always loved the hands-on work, like using the several huge washers in the small room connected to his office in the Lasch Building. That's where he washes the paint and dirt-stained jerseys before they become almost spotless again. Washing the Capital One Bowl jerseys took six hours four hour-and-a-half cycles to get the dirt out. His job also entails fixing cleats and scrubbing helmets, organizing mail and bringing pants and jerseys to his home so he and his wife can stitch them on their sewing machine. even with the most meticulous hands-on aspects, Caldwell seeks perfec tion. "No look hole there for a fin knew Caldwell's father and saw Spider working with the junior high team. The varsity coach had an idea train a young kid and allow him to be an equip ment manager for three to four years so he didn't have to constantly train new managers. Caldwell didn't want to leave Keely, the man who had given him the opportunity for junior varsity, but Keely insisted. "He said, 'Hey, it's varsity. You got to go,' Caldwell said. "Because varsity in high school is it." Keely claims three days is an exaggeration. To Keely, it was more like 48 hours. He said he brought Caldwell on as student manager because of his abil ity to do a good job. "He did more for the people around him than they did for him," Keely said. As far as Caldwell's former science teacher was con cerned, Caldwell's scoliosis wasn't very noticeable, and he was capable of handling things. Keely said Caldwell's parents allowed their son to take his knocks, which molded him into the selfless man he is today. Keely inadvertently referred to Caldwell as a coach when recalling the manager's high school years. "I keep wanting to say coach," Keely said, "because he was so much involved with the high school." so the Because Caldwell was always considered a part of the team he received a standing ovation at the sen ior awards sports banquet during his senior year. He was given a wristwatch as a gift from the play ers as all in attendance applauded. Afterward, Caldwell talked with Keely and his pregnant wife. At that point, Keely gave Caldwell the greatest compliment he ever received. "He pointed to his wife's belly and said, 'I hope this kid turns out to be half as good as you are and half of what you are as a person,' Caldwell recalled. "That kid today works for Mission Control in Houston." To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu Blue-White week Wednesday After the last spring practice before the Blue-White game, the players dump their equipment into the empty travel bags, located in the players' lockers. Thursday Caldwell and his assistant managers bring the travel bags and trunks of equipment from the Lasch Building to Beaver Stadium. The extra equipment is left over from the bowl game and is brought to the stadium in case a piece of equipment goes missing. Friday Caldwell and the assistant managers unpack the bags. They clean the helmets, polish the shoes and hang the equipment in the lockers. Saturday Caldwell sizes the incoming 2010 freshmen for their equipment at Beaver Stadium before the game. Caldwell takes their helmet, shoulder pads, shirt and shoe sizes. Current players file into the locker room, and Caldwell attends to their "millions of needs." As the players go to their autograph session, Caldwell finally gets a break. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
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