It's typical for kids growing up near Oreno, Maine to play hide-and-go-seek or ride bikes. Stuff adventurous, thrill-seeking children usually do.
One kid around those parts was different. He was often found by his siblings having lengthy conversations with older neighbors.
It's no surprise considering this kid, Danny White, UB's newest director of athletics, comes from a family of coaches and athletic administrators.
His curiosity molded him into the person he is now: personable, competitive and motivated to take UB to a new athletic level.
It wasn't always easy.
Moving from place to place was routine in White's family. His father, Dr. Kevin White, is currently the athletic director at Duke University. Kevin and his wife, Jane, have five children - including Michael, who is the men's basketball coach at Louisiana Tech, and Brian, who is the associate athletic director at the same school.
White's childhood was a journey that stretched between multiple time zones, from Arizona to Maine, and many points in between.
"We've always struggled telling people where we are from," Michael said in an email. "It usually opens a can of worms and ends in a long answer."
It was all part of the family business. Kevin started out as a track and field coach at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, Fla. His coaching travels led him to Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State.
After starting his athletic administrative career at Loras College in Iowa, Kevin and his family moved to the University of Maine, Tulane, Arizona State and Notre Dame, where Danny eventually enrolled and played college basketball, graduating in 2002.
"Five kids with strong personalities brought daily adventure," Michael said. "It was always a competitive environment, as all of us were athletes, including our parents, but we were extremely close at the same time."
Danny's parents made sure they kept focused on their dreams, despite the constant distractions of moving. Many kids grow up detached from the world and are reluctant to make new friends due to the constant fear of moving.
That's what makes this family so special.
"The adversities that arise with moving across the country strengthened our sibling bond," Michael said. "We learned to be adaptable to different environments and cultures, and also how to build new relationships at every stop.
"Dad is relentless and passionate with regard to his profession, and our mom works equally as hard holding everything together on a personal level. Needless to say, work ethic was a given in our household as a product of the example given by our parents."
Of course, growing up as a member of the White family meant sibling rivalry was a constant theme, and Danny was one who never liked to lose.
"Danny is as competitive as anyone I know," Michael said. "Whether it's basketball, a video game or Cornhole, Danny is not playing for fun. He's playing to win. I've seen several days ruined for him after a loss. He doesn't take them well."
There were some unfortunate casualties.
"We went through several broken Nintendo controllers in the White house," Michael said.
Despite White's views on losing, his curiosity about his father's profession is what helped him later on in life.
"Danny has always been mature beyond his years, so his rapid ascension in the athletic administration ranks comes as no surprise despite his age," Michael said. "He's very bright, and he's very familiar with the family business. Like our father, his motor never slows down, and he operates with the utmost amount of integrity in work and life."
White's past has affected his future, as he tries to teach his kids the same lessons that were taught to him. He has three young kids: a smart, analytical 7-year-old son named Aiden; his middle daughter, Molly, a 5-year old girl who has a laid back personality; and the youngest daughter, Caitlin, 2 years of age, whom Danny simply calls 'crazy.' A fourth child is due on Oct. 1.
The lessons he's learned from his children stretch into his job today.
"I think parenting makes you a better leader, a better manager," White said. "You can't really have success without accountability."
He considers himself lucky to have a partner, his wife Shawn, who is just as involved as he is in terms of raising the family in the same way he was raised.
"We had to have that conversation before we got married," White said. "She's been very supportive. We look at it like it's our career, not just my career. She's done and is doing a great job at raising our children, but it's a team effort. College athletics is an emotional enterprise, and we look at it as a family. That's how I learned it. She's very much and will be involved in the work that we will be doing here to advance UB athletics."
Although the boys have various travel and work schedules, it's the holidays that give the White family a rare chance to be together.
"We don't have opportunities to get together as much these days, although we celebrate every other Christmas together, because of our time constraints and geographical hurdles," White said. "When we do though, we try to spend more time reminiscing about our upbringing rather than talking about meetings, budgets or ball screens."
As for the rivalry? It's dead now - at least to White.
"There's not [a rivalry]," White said. "When we get together it's more just looking to relax. The advantage to working in college athletics is that I feel like I'm not working, but the disadvantage is that you're never really off the job. The hours are long, and the days off are hard to find, so we try to get together as a family at least once a year, and try to relax."
Collegiate sports are often looked upon as a business enterprise, but to White, it's all in the family.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
