When Shane Beamer left South Carolina for Virginia Tech, one could have easily assumed it was with one eye on the task and the other on a head coaching position. Put in a few good years in Blacksburg, then take over for Dad and build a dynasty that could rival the Hans and the Qings.
The assumption is correct, but in the wrong direction.
Beamer didn't leave South Carolina to get the Virginia Tech job. He left South Carolina to one day get the South Carolina job.
"I'll never forget having this conversation, if I ever wanted to be the head coach at South Carolina, I felt like we needed to leave to go to Virginia Tech at that time, and then ultimately come back," he recalled telling his wife, Emily.
"I don't know if she believed me or not, but she went along, and we worked 10 years to work to get back to this special place," he continued. "Baby, we did it."
The Beamers kept the flame alive in their time away. Like expats keeping in touch with the Old Country, Shane and Emily made a tradition of watching the South Carolina coaches' show each Sunday night while Shane coached at Virginia Tech, at Georgia, at Oklahoma.
Repeat: they watched the coaches' show of a team they didn't coach for a decade.
That South Carolina dream was shared with their children, to the point where Beamer shared this story on Monday.
"For the last two weeks, every single night when I came home, they would text me, 'Are you close to home?' 'Yeah, I'm about five minutes away.' And lo and behold, every single night when I walked in the house, 'Sandstorm' would be blaring in our kitchen and my 7-year-old would be waving his T-shirt above his head. So no pressure at all."
For those unfamiliar with the "Sandstorm" reference, here you go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYTCDFjxCYI
The most important detail is that their son, Hunter, is seven years old. The Beamers left Columbia in 2010. Hunter Beamer was born in Blacksburg, Va. As far as we know, younger Hunter Beamer has never attended a game at Williams Brice Stadium, and yet he was this excited to go live in a state he's never known.
The lesson here is Shane Beamer and his family are really excited to be South Carolina's head coach. (Well, that and 7-year-olds will get excited for just about anything.)