A round-the-clock coach who works like a Trojan warrior

With practice for football season opening next week, USC Coach Pete Carroll is just about ready to get back to business. Back to the 20-hour Mountain Dew-fueled workdays that helped propel him and the Trojans to a share of the national championship in his third season at the university.

So was it a summer of leisure for the Bay Area native, a chance to relax and maybe even revel just a bit in being a freshly minted celebrity in a celebrity-driven town?

No way. His work schedule -- not to mention the expectations of the alumni and fans -- doesn’t allow the 52-year-old resident of Rolling Hills much time for frivolity. Between his recruiting duties, planning sessions and booster-club tub-thumping, his leisure window boils down to “about one weekend” per year. It seemed only fitting, then, that we asked Carroll how he and his wife, Glena, would occupy themselves for one last break in the action before the pads start popping again.

Love of the games

On a Friday night, the first thing we’d look for is a game over at the high school, Peninsula High. Basketball, volleyball, whatever it might be. We just love going to those kinds of events. If nothing’s going on there, we’ll get together with family friends.

Our kids [sons Brennan and Nathan and daughter Jaime] are older now and pretty much off on their own on weekends, so we’ll go out with some adult friends to a movie at one of the malls off Crenshaw Boulevard. Then we’ll look for somewhere quick and easy for dinner, like a little Greek place.

Beach, ball and burgers

Saturday morning, we’ll sleep in late if we can, and when we get up we’ll take the dogs for a walk. After that, we might head down to Manhattan Beach and do some biking or play a little volleyball. Or maybe do some boogie boarding or throw the football around. Just something active, something outside.

At night we’d probably go out to dinner. No matter where we go, we always end up talking football with someone, but I don’t mind that a bit. People are real nice and respectful, and I just try to have some fun with it.

Islands has a Hawaiian burger that’s pretty good. And there’s a place in Manhattan Beach called Towne Restaurant, and I’m pretty partial to the lamb there.

Breakfast

On Sunday it’s kind of quiet around the house, so we’ll go out to a restaurant called Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach, which has the best pancakes in the South Bay. We sit at the counter.

Flavored syrups? No, I’m a maple syrup guy. I’m big on maple syrup, pancakes and scrambled eggs.

For the rest of the day we’d just stick around home, and the kids might come over for dinner. And since it’s Sunday, we’d have a barbecue, and I’d be doing the cooking.