I made calls Dec. 24 to a number of area coaches, trying to get to the bottom of holiday tournaments. Not that I don't understand what they're all about, but more or less asking why coaches involve their teams in them.

I think Monsignor Bonner's Tom Meakim put it best: "Heck, we're trying to win a (tournament) championship."

The holiday tournament season is upon us with Bonner opening Monday and most other teams christening their slates Tuesday or Wednesday. Here's a glimpse of my column on holiday tournaments, which will appear in Tuesday's Daily Times:

It’s not the 97-mile drive that jolts Tom Meakim. Nor is it the prospect of maintaining order among 13 young adults … in a night’s stay at a hotel … out of state.

Actually, as Meakim will tell you, it’s that ham-dinner/cookie-dessert hangover that causes him vexations.

“I’ll tell you what — that’s on my mind, but it’s not as bad as you’d think,” Meakim, Monsignor Bonner’s boys basketball coach, said with a warm chuckle. “You get your guys out there running, doing a shootaround and they’re usually OK.

“The last thing you want is for them to be lethargic because they had too much to eat the day before. But this is a happy time of the year, and I’m happy for them.”

Playing basketball in the days immediately following Christmas, as Meakim’s Monsignor Bonner team did Monday, is daunting for any coach. From gifts to girlfriends, and pastries with fillings of jelly that lead to overly full bellies, the kids have everything but a bouncing ball on their minds.

For the rest of the column, pick up Tuesday's Daily Times.