Joe Chojnacki’s alarm goes off around 4:15 each morning, but his day has already been organized before he opens his eyes.
His clothes are waiting beside the bed. He gets dressed, brushes his teeth and heads out the door, usually within 10 minutes.
By 5:10 a.m., the Rockville Centre resident is at CNN, preparing for the morning broadcast. By afternoon, he is in the Bronx coaching college volleyball. Somewhere in between, he finds time for recruiting, production work and the responsibilities that come with both jobs.
Chojnacki, 51, has worked at CNN for 17 years and is in his third season as the women’s volleyball coach at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. He has also been a member of the East Rockaway Fire Department since he was 18 and has performed with his band, The Switch, for more than 25 years.
Even his car reflects the mileage he puts on his life. Chojnacki drives a 2008 Toyota Corolla with 266,000 miles, a fitting vehicle for someone constantly moving from one commitment to the next.
“Time management,” he said. “I would say that was probably the greatest lesson I learned.”
Chojnacki works as a studio operator on “CNN News Central.” He arrives well before the 7 a.m. broadcast, checking emails and messages related to Mount Saint Vincent before the show begins.
Sara Sidner, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and co-anchor of “CNN News Central,” sees his early-morning energy firsthand.
“He comes in with a freaking smile on his face,” Sidner said. “Like he knows what life’s about, satisfied with life, excited about life.
“We all have our days,” she continued. “But overall, Joey always comes in with this sort of happy attitude, which is a feat when you’re sleeping, you know, when your schedule is slightly insane.”
After News Central ends at 10 a.m., Chojnacki helps change the studio over, eats lunch and may train in another production position. His day typically ends around 1 or 1:30 p.m.
Once his CNN day ends, Chojnacki drives to Mount Saint Vincent, arriving around 2 p.m. Before practice, there are recruiting emails and calls, opponent scouting and the logistical work of running a college program.
Practice begins at 4:30 and ends at 6:30 p.m. Chojnacki often talks with players individually before leaving campus, then uses the drive home to continue recruiting conversations. He gets home, eats dinner, showers and tries to get to bed around 9 or 9:30.
For Chojnacki, coaching is about more than winning. His current team is young, with freshmen and sophomores playing significant roles. He enjoys seeing players reach an “a-ha” moment after working through a correction and watching the team execute a perfect pass, set and swing or finish a long rally.
He also wants his players to know that he cares about them as people. A couple of years ago, he overheard one player tell another, “At least we have a coach that cares about us.”
The comment stayed with Chojnacki.
“That was like, ‘wow,’ you know?” he said. “And that's why I care. I care about them.”
For Mount Saint Vincent volleyball captain Jessica Broderick, that approach sets Chojnacki apart from coaches who focus primarily on results.
“There are a lot of coaches who just care about a trophy and a title and that's really the only thing they care about,” she said. “But it's evident in the way he runs practice and the way he checks up on his players that he really does care about the individual and the individuals who make up the team.”
That instinct to help extends to his other commitments. Chojnacki, who grew up in Lynbrook, joined the East Rockaway Fire Department at 18, following three older brothers. He eventually served as a lieutenant, captain and department president.
Joe’s wife, Jean McCormick, said coaching added another layer to a life that was already full when they married 14 years ago. An actress, McCormick spent two months this year working in Indiana as Beverly in “Come from Away” and is now performing in the same show in Syracuse until Oct. 11.
When Chojnacki told her he wanted to return to coaching, McCormick supported him despite knowing what it would mean for their schedules.
“I could never get upset with him for wanting to do things to take up time because my schedule is an X factor at all times being an actor and doing what I do, which is mainly working in regional theater,” she said. “You literally never know what's coming the next day, or the next week, or the next month.”
The couple, which has called Rockville Centre home the past eight years, uses a shared calendar to keep track of their schedules. When they are both home, they sometimes order dinner from San Remo, return to their apartment and have what McCormick calls a “dance party,” putting on favorite music and dancing around the apartment.
“I highly recommend it,” she said. “It’s really fun.”
For all the miles on his Corolla and the hours packed into his days, Chojnacki has little interest in slowing down. He has found a way to make room for the work, coaching, the fire department, music and, most importantly, the people who make each commitment worthwhile.
“I like to keep moving,” he said. “You’ve got to make the schedule work and find time for the things that matter.”
