The three professions listed in the headline above may not seem as if they are related, but they were the path Steve Root, president of East West Unlimited LLC, in Coachella, CA, took to his current perch as a grower-shipper of table grapes in California’s Coachella Valley.

Root grew up in the valley in Indio, CA, and went to high school at Coachella Valley High School. He excelled at football, which led to a spot on the roster at the University of Alabama where he played linebacker under the legendary Bear Bryant.

In fact, Root was on the undefeated team in 1971 that played for the mythical national championship at the time against the University of Nebraska on Jan. 1, 1972. Unfortunately, they lost and Nebraska claimed the top spot in that year’s final poll.

It was Root’s senior year and he moved from the gridiron to the classroom as he parlayed his college years at Alabama into a teaching credential and settled into coaching and teaching in Alabama. He was a physical education teacher and coached several different sports. A couple of years later, his old high school coach in Coachella retired and also quit his summer job working at one of the local grape packing facilities. Root took over and eventually turned that summer job into a new career.

“I went to work in the summers for Steve Volpe and Lionel Steinberg,” he said. “In 1984, I was offered a full-time job at Royal Madera Vineyards up in the San Joaquin Valley. I stayed there five years.”

Root then came back to the Coachella Valley area and worked in sales for several firms before going off on his own in the late 1990s. By then he had bought some land and planted some grapes and has operated as both grower- shipper and salesman ever since. His philosophy is to get in and out of the deal as quickly as possible.

With the early-producing Perlette variety as well as Flame Seedless, Summer Royals and Sugraones, it is Root’s goal to be in and out in as little as five weeks. He jokes he collects one paycheck after that five weeks of work and he’s writing checks the rest of the year.

Admitting that it is difficult to be in the deal for such a short time, Root said “quality and price” allows him to move his crop every year. By being earlier than almost anyone else, he can create loyalty among a handful of customers. “I take care of them for the first three weeks (when there are few competitors) and they take care of me for the last two weeks (when competitors are over the place). I sell to the same people every year.”

But Root is quick to reiterate that it is the top quality of his grapes that allow him to move the crop. He said at the early end of the deal there are numerous buyers ready to switch to California grapes and he’s ready to accommodate them. This year, he told The Produce News on Monday, April 21, that he would pick his first box later that week. Though virtually everyone interviewed said they would be picking two weeks earlier this year than they did last year, almost everyone else was gearing up for a start date about two weeks later than Root around May 5.

He said his production, along with most of that in the valley, should be up this year as the same perfect growing conditions that have led to earlier production have created increased production. “My volume will be up by about 10-20 percent,” he said.

He was quick to add however that he is not in a growth mode like others in the area. “I’m not planting any new acres,” he said. “I like it right where I am. I want to be in position to retire in the next 10 years.”

He said his philosophy of life was forged by Coach Bryant. “Whether it is coaching, teaching or selling grapes, do the best you possibly can and work hard.”