You know, when I do well in a tournament, I get all the attention from the magazines, websites and on television, but Brent Chapman is far more than just me. Brent Chapman, the angler, is a whole lot of people, including my wife, Bobbi, my kids Makayla and Mason and our extended family and my sponsors, as well. Sure, I do all the finding, catching and weighing of fish, but it wouldn’t be possible without the help and sacrifices of everyone else.
Let me start by saying that my family travels all season with me. A 4- or 5-hour trip is a short one for us. We sometimes spend two full days or more in a truck headed from event to event. That’s asking a lot from the kids. Bobbi drives the truck pulling the boat, and I drive another truck pulling our fifth wheel.
If the travel isn’t enough, the kids have sacrificed traditional school to be home schooled. Bobbi once again steps up there and handles all of the schooling, both at home and on the road. While this is a sacrifice, it's also a great benefit. Makayla and Mason have seen most of the country and things that other kids may never get to see.
We aren’t the only family fishing the Elite Series like this. A bunch of us live this way, and the kids all have a lot of fun in the process.
The list of Bobbi’s tasks goes beyond the travel, schooling and other more traditional tasks. She also takes care of all the accounting, setting up travel arrangements and handling sponsors obligations, just to name a few things.
Handling the sponsors alone is a full time and very important role for Team Chapman. We have more than a dozen sponsors, and it's important for me to keep them up to speed on everything going on and making sure I'm taking care of all the obligations.
When things go right on the water, it's my name that ends up in the headlines, but there are quite a few people that make up Team Chapman, starting with Bobbi, Makayla and Mason.