Late in Wednesday's practice at Scrappy Moore Field, Roman Pearson cut upfield and sprinted for a long gain. Football in hand, he zigged and zagged, and at another point attempted to pick up another football - a tough task for anybody trying to grab the oddly-shaped object.
Of course, there's a catch: Roman just turned 2 years old.
The oldest son of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga strength training coach Chad Pearson is one of more than 20 kids - all younger than 9 - who at any point could be hanging around the field as Mocs coaches' wives await the end of practice. As preseason camp approaches its fourth and final week, the staff is at meetings and practices all day, so a reprieve from that grind via the smiling, young faces eager to see their fathers has been a welcomed part of the process.
It's not uncommon for the kids to become part of post-practice interviews. Defensive coordinator Tom Kaufman and wife Stephanie just had their first child, and after a recent practice, Tom stood proudly and spoke softly as Jack slept in his arms.
Building a family atmosphere in the program was part of head coach Tom Arth's plan since being hired in December, and on Wednesday, coaches' wives Tori Aplin, Katie Feeney, Emily Hennessey, Rachel Pearson and Jennifer Rascati were at practice and there were six kids present.
So while coaches are on one end of the field harping on drills and execution, the wives are on the other end, visiting with each other and watching their kids run.
"I love being here," said Rascati, who is married to offensive coordinator Justin Rascati. "It's a great family atmosphere and it's great being able to bring kids out - it's not that way at every school, so it's really a blessing to have Coach Arth really create that type of environment for us.
"The kids love seeing the football players and getting to interact with them, so they're excited to come out here, and it's a good way for us to burn a little energy and give us a little break."
Feeney is the newest member of the wives club, having married linebacker coach Matt Feeney only a few weeks ago. Yet she has been embraced quickly by the more experienced members, and she talked about how the wives have been great.
Coaches' lives, along with their families, typically include a lot of uprooting and moving for any number of reasons, and for Mrs. Feeney - an admitted "homebody" - the other wives have aided in that process.
"They've been that backbone to get me over the hump of being homesick," she said. "It's great to see the guys doing what they really like to do and how they're building the program. It's been really fun to watch and great to hear about, because everybody is really positive about everything."
It was the family atmosphere that led players like Wyoming transfer Joseph Parker to choose to move to a program more than 1,200 miles away from his hometown of Castle Rock, Colo. For Arth - who has five kids - it was important for the team to be able to see how coaches interacted with their wives and children to be the sort of example for players when they make life decisions with future spouses.
"This time of year is as challenging as any time," Arth said. "Throughout the year, our staff works incredibly hard - on the road recruiting when we're not in season, at spring practice, working late hours - and it's important to be able to have time to know that if you're not able to be at home, then your family can come here, can have dinner with you, can come out to practice and run around.
"It's the most important part of life, so we want to make sure we embrace it here."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.