Coaches bank on coaches
Sponsored Content - Nov 19, 2017 - Think Local

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Thompson-Okanagan FC’s soccer teams are usually the only ones in their leagues from the B.C. interior. That means they end up playing a ton of games on the coast.

It’s a long and often brutal drive to get there, which is why coach Kai Tolpinrud says the club takes its transportation very seriously.

There’s a lot of things team managers need to consider when they’re hauling young players to far-flung matches. Safety, timeliness, convenience, comfort and camaraderie are all important, he says, and the club needs transportation that takes all of it into account.

For Tolpinrud, the only real answer is a motor coach–and for as long as he can remember, TOFC has been using BlueStar Coach Lines.

“It’s a comfortable atmosphere, with lots of space, great features, and there’s even a bathroom on there,” he says. “The players can sleep if they want, although I think most of them are probably in there on their phones, using the free wifi, playing games, and chirping at each other.”

Corinne Underwood is the director of business development at BlueStar Coachlines.

She says that, these days, motorcoaches are so luxurious and well-equipped you can’t really even call them buses anymore.

BlueStar’s coaches, for example, come chalked full of options like complimentary wifi, reclining seats, fully equipped entertainment systems and onboard washrooms.

Tolpinrud says a trip on a motor coach not only feels better than cramming into a car, but that getting team together can do wonders for team chemistry.

And then there’s the safety factor.

“The safety of having a uniformed driver in a big bus, that’s huge,” he says. “Knowing we have a professional driver, who can handle any kind of weather or road, it makes those tough-weather tripes so much nicer,” he says.

BlueStar, he says, is also incredibly accommodating to the ever-evolving schedules that sports teams can come with.

Not long ago, for example, one of the club’s teams played a semi-final match that decided whether or not they would have to bomb down to the coast in the next morning for the finals.

BlueStar put a coach on standby for the team, so they could be sure they had proper transportation, even though they didn’t know if they would need it until the last minute.

“For me, they’ve always been extremely accommodating,” Tolpinrud says.

Underwood points out that BlueStar has a fleet of coaches–ranging from an-11 seat sprinter, through to a 27-seat executive class motorcoach, a 48-seat motorcoach, and more than 20 56-seat coaches–so it can handle groups and teams of virtually any size.

For more information on motorcoaches, or for a closer look at BlueStar Coachline’s fleet, check out the company online.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.


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