The family they spend the most time with during the holidays is not their immediate family, but instead their fellow teammates and coaching staff, Callero said.
“For six months of the year, we are a living, breathing part of their family,” Callero said. “I spend much more time with these basketball players than I do my immediate family. They become my family as well, and there is a family dynamic to it.”
Just like most families, the men’s basketball team has its share of quirky and fun traditions to celebrate the holiday season.
Most notable among the players is the annual white-elephant gift exchange that takes place in late December. Players and coaches will purchase inexpensive and humorous gifts to be exchanged amongst the team. Per traditional white-elephant rules, participants can choose to either “steal” a previously opened gift or open a new one until all the wrapped presents are revealed.
Some popular gift ideas from years past include PEZ dispensers, fishing boots and even picture frames with entertaining photos of the players in them.
The traditions employed by the team around the holidays are an integral part of the team’s feeling of camaraderie senior forward David Hanson said.
“It’s a really loose environment, and it’s a lot of fun,” Hanson said. “Coach (Callero) cultivates it well and … to have one another is definitely huge for us.”
While on the road, the team likes to get together for dinner at a local restaurant for team bonding. Two years ago they traveled to Little Rock, Ark., to take on the University of Arkansas, Little Rock during the Thanksgiving holiday. At the team dinner, everyone was instructed to write down something unique about their childhood and placed their anonymous notes in a jar to be read. The players then had to guess which unique statement belonged to which individual.
Callero said his was the hit of the evening as everyone was bewildered by what he wrote.
“I had a pet sheep when I grew up,” Callero said. “I remember everyone looked around, and the guys had no idea.”
The holiday traditions bring the team together and give the players and coaches a sense of togetherness when they are traveling and playing while others may be enjoying the holiday festivities at home. The players are granted only a few days to visit family around Christmas time, meaning that the rest of their break is enveloped by basketball.
For senior forward Jordan Lewis, spending time with his teammates and coaches throughout the holiday season has had a profound impact on him throughout his four years at Cal Poly.
“It’s huge because we’ve spent so much time together,” Lewis said. “We are a family. In the huddle we say ‘1-2-3 family’ and that’s what the coaches emphasize. As a family, we pull together in good times and in bad times. That’s where our strength is, in our family.”
While some of the traditions may be sheepish in nature, they all serve the purpose to bring each individual on the men’s basketball team closer to one another. Although they’re not necessarily traditions, many players also find themselves bonding over trivial pranks and even video games that are played while on the road — much like teenage brothers might do.
“For me, it’s a sense of comfort, and I’m most comfortable around our team,” Callero said. “I like to be the leader of this family. I like to be the head of the table because it makes me feel good to watch over (the players’) development.”