It's mc giardano. Uh, the beauty of the green rooms that I can see that he he has a he has a background that that is a very very bedroomish and that's a good thing. It means he's got a roof over his head. So we're gonna bring in the head coach at unc Asheville mc giardano and as I see, uh, go ahead and raise that right arm there there, Mick, Now, what happened there?
John, that's a that's a story for another day, My friend, that's A that's a UH. That's another story. Don't worry that was This is not UH is not weather related. This is uh. This is uh. You know how some of those radio stations they say, there's the d A of the day, and you got your your moment.
Yeah, yes, yes I do, because uh, I don't even need a radio station to tell me about.
Being a d A and UH and d A is uh A an.
Abbreviation for someone who is not so smart, and UH could be associated with with if you remember the Disney movie Gus. That would be the way to break it down. Okay, so it is not related to anything recent and meteorological, is what you're saying.
No, no, it is not it is. Uh, it is certainly not a fun or, I should say, one of my more intelligent moments. However, my wife does take joy and reminding me, even though she already knew she was the intelligent one, she does take joy and reminding me like, yeah, this, this just kind of really solidifies that. Enough.
Oh no, I'm right there with you. I mean, it's it is.
It is definitely something where I am reminded of my my profound lack of intelligence by the boss as.
And I tell her that it's like, look, you know, if.
I do something stupid, I know that you're gonna be the first person to tell me, and feel free to tell everybody else I did something stupid. You know that that is perfectly fine.
You gotta take it. If you do it, you.
Gotta take it exactly.
And uh, I'm glad first and foremost that we were able to find you and catch up and see how you are d a of the day moment outstanding. And I guess my first question is how are the Giordanos.
We are We're good. I appreciate it, you know we are. We are right ironic enough, My wife was actually in California on a work trip, So it was just myself and our dogs at our house which we're we're about south. We are out by the airport in Mills River. So we're all good. Our staff, thankfully is everyone is safe
and everyone is is okay. So the Castos, which Joe is our head assistant recruiting coordinator, his wife is actually the head assistant on the women's side for us, they are all good, and they are out in the Raleigh area and everything. And then our others just at Ronnie, him and his wife are safe bouncing between Ashville helping people and Charlotte getting supplies and whatnot. So thankfully we all we're all very blessed and very safe.
All right.
So let me go back to when Helene came through and left one of the most awe inspiring calling cards you could ever leave. And I mean that in the sense of yeah, I'm here, and yeah you're gonna remember it, and it's it's It has been referred to as apocalyptic, it has been referred to as awe inspiring, it has been referred to as just absolute devastation. So when Helene was going through, where were you and your staff and your players? Did you tell everybody just to get out of town or what.
So we we knew it was gonna be bad, but we didn't know it was going to be this bad. So we were all still on campus or in the area, and we had a meeting. Athletic department had a MANAGEORENT meeting last minute on Thursday, sorry on Wednesday, and then we had basically a talk of hey, on Thursday, we had another meeting saying we need to really be careful. This could get really nasty. And that was on Thursday afternoon.
So Wednesday, the rain started around fourish in the afternoon, typical rain, but it was heavy, just a storm, but it kept going through Thursday. We started to get a little bit worried on how much rain it was really starting to hit the entire area. And that's when people started to go, this is not going to be good. But we were still all on campus, we were still at our houses, and everyone was still just kind of hunkered down. The Athletic Department went ahead and said everyone
stay off campus. This was Thursday afternoon. Everyone make sure if you need last minute stop by right now. Otherwise, everyone be off campus outside of emergency personnel, which was our sport admin. And then the athletic director. So they were still kind of bouncing around, and then Friday mid
were probably around four am, maybe a touch earlier. It really the storm actually hit and the winds and the majority of us lost power around five to six am that morning, maybe summer even earlier, and that's when it got real serious, really really fast.
Okay, And once again, the beauty of the green room is that I can see when folks drop in, and I specifically asked you to send out the siren call just so you can try and catch up with as
many folks as possible. And I'm going to go ahead and bring Andy and Andy mcnahm on the women's side is Yeah, I guys, Hey, Andy, I was asking Mick about and you came in in the green room and you might have caught a little bit of this of when the campus was basically telling everybody there at you NCA, hey, Helen's coming, get your stuff together and make sure that you're either hunkered down.
Or out of here.
Where were you in all of these discussions as everything was being brought into play.
Yeah, I think what everyone needs to realize is there's obviously a lot going on in these moments, and I think for us, our first and foremost as family, and our athletes and where they throughout this process as well. And you know, I think the cellular service going down didn't help this whole process. And you know, I think it's just how how do you get in touch with people and how do you make sure everybody is as
safe as possible? And I think, you know, as Mick and I have spoke since we've had our devices available, as how quickly our student athletes reacted to this and and got themselves mobilized and and and out of the out of the area and being open. It was difficult being in that environment and without those communications and trying
to get everybody where they needed to be. But yeah, we were, we were at home personally, and and you know, when power starts going out and and all of that, it's it's it was a scary situation for sure.
And as you can tell, Andy is from Bunkham County, He's a native with the accent that's there. Uh let me do this snake draft style. Uh Andy, let me ask you how difficult is it? And have you caught up with everybody there on the roster coaching staff? Where is your level of communication? In reconnecting right now with everybody.
Yeah, we've been in good communication now, making sure you know, players, coaches, support staff are all okay, in a good place. I mean, I'd like to use this platform to shout out our players and they were phenomenal. And you know, there's some pictures that I've been giving afterwards of them around the hood of a car with I guess they would call an old school map try to figure it a way
out of Ashville. And you know, as soon as I got selling your service, was given a list of where everybody was, who was with who, which city, which house And for me, the problem solving skills there is through the roof from eighteen to twenty year olds, you know, And I think that's the biggest, the proud moment for us of they got themselves out in this moment where I personally couldn't get to them and went on campus Saturday to try and find them, they weren't there and
had found out that they by themselves worked this out and mobilized everybody in those moments. So but afterwards, you know, we're in good contact now and just kind of wait to see what the next steps are and knowing that they're safe and their sound and hearing there, even getting some training in is good for them to still be in contact for sure. But yeah, we're we're getting messages out as we can, but obviously, as you can imagine, we're working with limited information right now.
Mick, what about on your side, Yeah, it was it was similar.
I was a little bit later to get service, so myself and then Joe Will working kind of to figure out where everyone was first and foremost and everyone was safe,
and that was done Sunday morning. We were able to find out that the majority had gotten out at that point and they had done not as organized by any means as the women's team they are, they were top notch and how they were able to have it, but our boys were still quite quite positive with how they were able to manage to get everyone out and get down the Charlotte and then go from there with it. We got the last group out Sunday afternoon as they
did not have any gas, so that was an interesting situation. Thankfully, some families came and helped there and we were able to get everyone safe. But now we're just communicating normal. We are scattered a touch, like Andy said, but everyone
is safe. Everyone is with families. We have five families, I believe if I remember correctly, that I've taken in teammates and extras and everything, and they are some of the true heroes right now for our staffs stepping up and taking on extra and still messaging both of our staffs on how can they do more? And they want to do more, But we are We know the boys are safe, we know they're they're together, and they're in
a good place. And now we just continue just to via text at the moment, and then once we get more information, we'll probably have a group a group setting, or maybe it could be a fall fall sports setting where we get student athletes together touch base, et cetera.
Mick, what's it been like to see your student athletes step up like this in an unconscionable situation where, if I remember the math this morning, you've got four hundred I think it's over four hundred and twenty five thousand households still without power. I think I forty eastbound was finally opened up this morning for traffic. I twenty six was the only way in and out for a lot of this time. But I think I forty eastbound has
opened up this morning. According to NCDOT, what's it been like to see your team step up in this way and understanding the gravity of the situation doing as best as they can a to stay in contact with each other and accomplish all of the things that they're doing.
Yeah, it's I truly can't express how proud we are, myself and our staff, of all of our student athletes and all the student athletes at unc Asheville for what they've done and how they've been able to manage it.
You know, we as a program, we've personally talked about you know, adversity is just an opportunity, and they certainly saw this as adversity to say the least, but they took it as the opportunity to make the most of it, and they took the opportunity to be able to help one another find the positive route, not paanic, and be able to go Andy will tell you, we're in this with eighteen to twenty two year olds that sometimes our knuckleheads and everything, but at the end of the day,
it's our job to try and help them be ready for the real world. There's nothing more real world than what they're going through right now, and what they had to go through Friday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That is true real world experience on a different level of everything. So to know that they've been positive and successful navigating this adversity and navigating these challenges, it shows that they are preparing themselves correctly and they are getting ready for it.
Micjer Dono and Andy McNabb in charge of both programs on the soccer side at unc Asheville, hanging out with us and giving us an update. Andy, I've been extremely remiss up to this point. How are you?
Oh, you know, as there's people in much more situations and than us, and you know, we really relocate to Duntee Charlotte a couple of days ago, and you know it's for us, it's the best situation at the moment. Just try to figure out when to go back to Ashville, how to go back to Ashville, and but yeah, I think looking back in Ashville there's much worse circumstances. So now we're okay, thank you.
So with your side of things, when it comes to seeing the maturity from eighteen to twenty two year olds and what is facing them right now, and I'm not talking athletics. I'm just talking about what's facing I mean, real worldlife kind of lessons here.
What's it been like to see them respond as well?
Yeah, I know the point of this platform is so you can hear us talk, but I think it's the same as mikets. It's almost speechless of how well they've dealt with the adversity and truly we didn't know what it was going to be like this, and for the way that they've handled it with each other with humility and organization and just we're going to help each other out. I think there's lessons for life that have definitely been
learned here. If we get to play again at some point, hopefully you know that together they've shown here translates in
there and for years to come. But it has been truly remarkable, and my staff and I have been immensely proud of the way that they've stepped up and handled this, and especially with so many people out of state, out of country going through all of them going through this for the first time in their lives, I think it's an immense immense proudness of how they've how they've done this.
So Mick, let me let me ask you here as a part of this since uh Andy kind of broached the subject playing, I know is furthest from a lot of folks minds, and I know that both of you would have to find your rosters bring them back to wherever the location is. But what has the response been like from the university and the conference about Look, we'll get there when we get there, just focus on being together, staying together, and making sure that you're all found in
the you're all healthy. What is the Have there been any conversations when it comes to schedule resumption.
Yeah, there's ongoing conversations currently right now as we speak. There's things going on with the conference. I'll first start was just saying the university and the Big South, our athletic director and the athletic department, we're all tremendous and first and foremost, get everyone out, get everyone safe, go from there. But then also keeping in mind, we will navigate this, we will work through it. There's many uncertainties, but just stay patient and we will make this possible.
The Big South has communicated via email and a few messages to individual sports but then also collectively about their desire to make everyone aware we're going to do everything we can, but at the moment, just hang tight and we'll have more information as it goes. So, you know, we've been given as staffs, we've been given some small projects, some small tasks to try and figure out and navigate what some things would look like and how you could
potentially manage some aspects of it. But again, I think the big thing, the big thing everyone kind of really
took on board was make sure everyone's safe. And then once we all get safe, appreciate the opportunity of where we are and the opportunity of being safe, because so many others are still missing, so many others are not in the same fortunate situation that we're blessed with right now, and that understanding, it is just sport, but also given some time, sport can help bring people back together and help heal some wounds. So that's kind of where it is.
And you have fifteen internationals on your roster, if my math is right correct, what's it what's it like for them?
In the conversations that you've been able to have with your international players, and Andy'll eventually asked you the same, because I think you have seven or eight, But what is it like with the international players who are away from home in the first place, and they are in this new environment and they're learning things about you know, unc Asheville and get chasing degrees and being student athletes and all this kind of stuff and integrating here in
the United States. What's it like for these internationals of yours in this situation and how are they holding up being so far from home in the first place, and now having this on top of.
That, I'll say, I'll even add in because we do have a fair amount from even the West Coast as well, so they're kind of all similar. It has been scary. It has been eye opening. The majority of them I've never remotely ever had to be through, go through a hurricane, or be in any type of situation like that. Thankfully enough, Again, their teammates, especially the ones from the southeast, North Carolina and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, they've all kind of rallied
around them and picked their spirits up. But several have made the comment of coach or Mick or Joe, I have no idea what was going on, and that is possibly the scariest I've ever been. When I saw all the flooding and I saw everything happening and whatnot, and thankfully they were all safe, mostly on campus, but there was a lot of down trees and a lot of downpower lines and everything, and they'd never seen anything like it, they said. One I know said it looked like someone
just blew up part of Camp BIS. So they were they were shocked, and they were rattled a bit as expected.
Andy, what about you and your internationals and conversations that hopefully you've been able to have with all of them and if not most.
Yeah, And I was going to echo exactly what makes said. We've got so many from you know, California, Michigan, all over the place. I think what you've saw with the community that we have, you know, our players are good people, Our families are good people, and we probably had more families reach out to make sure that the staff is okay than anything else. And I think that says a lot about them and wondering what they can do from afar. But you know, our players, as you can imagine, scared
and worried about what happens next. And I think at the same time kind of a priest of you know, the people that they have around them and helping them through these moments, which I think inevitably will bring them closer together and the individually. And but yeah, I would agree with mit. Just scared and wondering what the next steps are.
Were you scared at any point?
Yeah, I think you have to be and been through this moment, and scared for the city of Ashville, scared for unca Is, scared for my own family, and then inevitably the extended family that we have through our teams
and colleagues. And you know, when you start hearing that there's no water, there's no power, and then you can't speak to anybody for forty eight hours, I think just even looking from a personal level, not being able to speak with family back home, not being able to speak with in law of family, and people just not knowing you're safe as an individual, I think is scary in any moment. But when you take an entire city and it's been decimated into account, I think there has to
be a lot of anxious moments and uncertainty. And I think it's okay for everybody to say that they were scared throughout this this tragedy, because I think they'd be lying otherwise, quite frankly, from some of the things we've seen and even now on the back end, once we got cell service back, looking at what has actually happened, because when you're in that environment, you maybe don't you understand what's going on, but it's when you get that
cell service back and that power back. We're the lucky ones that did. It's just one of those ones where you start hearing comments from people of well did you see this? Did you see this? And you start actually seeing what has happened, and your heart your heart breaks and jaw drops, and for us, it's just we just hope that you know, things can start improving as quickly as possible.
Nick, when it comes to help aid anything, What what do you need?
What I mean?
And this is for both of you, and we'll start with you, Nick, What do you need? What do what do folks around you need?
Right now? How can folks help?
I mean other than maybe being present and you know, if you you know, if you send out a text, hey, shoot me a text back, so I know that you're that you're you're hanging out with me and that you empathize. How can folks help right now?
John? It's a hard it's a hard one to say, just because so much of the infrastructure is gone, and I think that is the scariest part of it all, and it's it's probably just basic, you know, basic essentials right now, continuing to send water, continuing to send food supplies, continue to send baby wipes and diapers and formula and just the basic essentials of what it is. The hope.
The hope is that Duke Energy is able to get the majority of the central areas power by Friday, which then then hopefully get at least through I twenty six, get gas tankers up there, because that's the next issue is the gas situation, and then the big one right now for the city is the water situation with many of the the pipes just completely not even broken, but gone, and crews not even be able to get to them
to be able to fix. So I think, you know, for for our program right now, again, we're very blessed and very fortunate. Everyone is safe, everyone is away. We we couldn't really ask for much outside of just thoughts and prayers, the people that are still there, for people
that want to try and help. It's just continuing to try and get supplies, basic essentials again of water, simple foods, you know, baby formula, those sorts of things up to them, and then just hopefully the linesmen and powers they're working around the clock, just hopefully they can get some of at least some of the area back with power, so then gas tankers, food trucks, those sorts of things can start to come back into the area for the for the shops and the grocery stores and everything.
Andy, let me ask you this when it comes to.
The sport there on campus, how would you describe the family aspect of it? What does you and c Asheville soccer mean to the Ashville community. What does the Ashville community in turn mean to you and CAA from your time there, How did the two, how did the two blend together? And what does one mean to the other?
Yeah, And I think Ashville itself is a big soccer community. I think from you know, you've got different entities around the town and it really has become a big soccer family, as you would say, in that sense of things. And I extend that into the club scene. I think we've got some very unfortunate instances where one of our local clubs has lost everything from fields and from the river breaking. So I think looking after each other in these moments, I think is massive and we're going to need each
other moving forward to rebuild everything that we have. But I think family is thrown around very easily around a lot of programs by I would say that the githerness, even hearing our athletic director talking about you during the evacuations, sport on sport, not just soccer, but sport on sport, helping each other get out of this environment and get to safety, I think just shows in itself, and it's the actions speak louder than words that we tell our program,
and I think that just shows the way that unc Ashville is for any resport, regardless of soccer or track and field or baseball or whoever it is. I think that shows the togetherness of the community and then not just helping athletes, helping others in that community at the same time as well, and I think all of that
does go hand in hand. That's what it's been like and hopefully that's what it continues to be like and even stronger as we navigate the what is going on when we eventually hopefully have the opportunity to come back and eventually play for the city.
No doubt about it, And obviously just know that we love you all very much and we send nothing but obviously warmest vibes and love and everything to to everyone up there and everyone that is in your circles, no matter how broad they are. Guys, thank you for doing this, and Mick, thanks for sending out the bat signal and making and making and dropping and dropping Andy in as well. Now it was Uh, I'm glad that we were able
to do this. And I'm going to go ahead and say it right now that I'm going to give you what we refer to here on the show as golden golden ticket status. So what that means is and it's something that I do is kind of a fault for you know, guests and everything. If you got something to say, at any time, look, text me, email me, DM me. You can hop out, you can hop in at any time. Wave your hand in the air for a couple of minutes. Hey,
this is what's going on. You want to vent your spleen, You want to sit there and say something, you want to come on and I mean, and you know, Andy, we can talk about you know, we can talk about old firm if you want, you know, if so, you know, if there's any time that you guys want to come on a give us updates, beaj's vent your spleens, c be a fan d let us know about what's going on, when the schedules happen, and all that kind of stuff.
You've got golden ticket status.
Knock on the door at anytime, let us know what's going on, let us know how you're feeling. Thanks for coming on this morning. I know that that it has been hell and I'm gonna go ahead and say that because explicit ratings.
We do that a lot here in the morning show. But it's been.
Helpful a lot of you for about a week now, and so anytime you guys want to drop by, Thanks for dropping by this morning. I profoundly appreciate this because I wanted to have folks understand what's going on with the UNCA, with UNCA programs, Western North Carolina, all that kind of stuff. Guys, thanks for dropping by this morning. Come by any time and we will catch up with
you soon. We love you all very much and can't wait to see you guys come back on the other side as a part of the growth of West in North Carolina after hoween John.
I appreciate it, and I'm just gonna give you two quick updates so you know as well, from these McCrae men's soccer talking to their head coach, they're all safe. They're all evacuated and they're okay. Same thing from Mars Hill they're actually still there. Wow, they have power. They are, they're okay and they're safe. But Mars Hill talking to Greg Marcell men's soccer, they're they're all safe as well. So I just wanted to give you those two updates.
Just hearing from them too, and and just want to say thank you. Appreciate the platform and appreciate you you and everyone thinking of us. It means more than words can say, So we appreciate you.
All right, So just be safe guys, and we'll catch up soon. Go get some coffee and some breakfast, Okay, go get like a you know, like do you guys ever eat Get to eat crappy now, you guys like just get like you know, twinkies or something or you guys still trying to be as vigilant as possible.
Where we ever. I don't know for or ever vigil but I think it's uh doing what we can.
No worries. All right, guys, be good we'll catch up soon, all right, all
Right, thanks Jan.