When Ivan McFarlin started working as an assistant coach at Ponca City High School, his basketball players had no idea he delivered newspapers.
They didn’t realize McFarlin woke at 1 a.m. each day. Often, he stopped at a convenience store to buy gummy bears. He didn’t care much for coffee, but the glossy, sugary candies gave him a small energy boost while most of Stillwater slept. After driving on a paper route across bumpy, rural roads, he returned home and recharged with a nap for about 1 1/2 hours before his workday continued.
Students on the boys’ basketball team didn’t see this side of McFarlin; they didn’t know his schedule was so exhausting.