The coach and his bus. Photo submitted by C. Lockwood.

By S.Q. DeJoy and J. Murrer 

June 29, 2022: While the Bronco teams had some amazing success this past school year, it was not seamless when it came to transportation to and from games.  When school started last September, there was a statewide shortage of bus drivers, so the Bronxville School had to get creative in order to get teams to their away games.  This was not the first time that transportation was a problem for the Bronxville teams. English teacher and golf coach, Chris Lockwood, had problems getting his team to away golf matches as far back as 2019.

“The golf team and I were stranded at Purchase Country Club after a match in 2019 when our bus wouldn't start,” said Lockwood. “That was also the season where the bus company sent a 55-passenger charter bus to pick up four golfers from Waccabuc Country Club.” Adding insult to injury, Lockwood and his golfers had to wait one hour for that charter bus to arrive.

Coach Lockwood was frustrated by bus travel and complained to former Athletic Director Karen Peterson about his experiences.  

“I joked about getting my license,” said Lockwood. “She may have dared me to do it, and the rest is history.”

After his conversation with Peterson, Lockwood took matters into his own hands and set out to get his bus driver’s license. Applying for the license was quite an experience, and it took longer than he ever expected.

“I was scheduled to take my road test in 2020 on the exact day we began our remote learning, so I needed to reschedule the test. Because of COVID, my road test was pushed way back to February 2021. I finally was able to take and pass the road test right before the 2021 spring season started.”

Coach Lockwood is now the official bus driver for the boys’ golf team, and he has nothing but good things to say about his new endeavor. 

“Driving the bus for the golf team has been great. The van is the perfect size for eight golfers and their clubs and allows us to arrive at away matches on time. It also gives us time to prepare before matches and decompress after matches. The bus feels like our version of a locker room.”

Lockwood also coaches JV football, and with the shortage of bus drivers last fall, parents stepped up to drive the players to away games while Lockwood transported all the gear. 

“I would drive the bus to away games with all of the players' equipment, which is substantial,” said Lockwood.  “The parents were great about driving the boys but putting the equipment on the bus saved their cars (and noses!) from the unnecessary odor of the players’ gear.”

Coach Lockwood is a fan of all Bronxville athletics and had the opportunity to drive the boys’ swim team and the squash teams in the winter.

“While they are sports, I have never coached, driving for those teams allowed me to meet even more athletes and stay connected to even more teams.”

His favorite trip for the school, however, may still be taking the students from the Life Skills class up to Concordia to see their Art Show on display. 

Like anything else, it takes a village to get this done. Assistant Superintendents Dan Carlin and Rachel Kelly and Athletic Director Joe Haven were and continue to be great assets in helping Lockwood stay certified as a driver for the district. Jomar Acevado and Stefanie Grohowski from maintenance keep the van fueled up and free from double parkers in an often-over-crowded faculty lot.  

Lockwood humorously summed up his new role at the Bronxville School.

“Besides my mother affectionately calling me Ralph Cramden from one of our family's favorite TV shows, The Honeymooners, being a bus driver for Bronxville has been a blast.”

Go Broncos Go.