If Sean McKaveney’s English teacher assigns a beginning-of-the-year essay on “What I Did During My Summer Vacation,” McKaveney will have a story to tell. The Point Loma High School (PLHS) senior quarterback spent last year’s football season enduring the decrepit conditions of the school’s varsity football locker room and decided it was time for a change. During a two-week lull in preseason drills recently, McKaveney, with mom Kathleen as co-contractor, gave the locker room a reality show-style makeover that stunned his teammates and coaches when they returned Aug. 11. “Sean really wanted to do this for his team,” said Kathleen. Sean couldn’t suppress a wide grin as his teammates gathered that morning to receive helmets and pads. He guarded the room’s closed door until shortly after 8 a.m. Then it was time for the unveiling. As the quarterback opened the door, his varsity buddies crowded in to see their new home. What they saw shocked the normally-talkative teens into silence. “It was really quiet,” Sean recalls, “but after about 30 seconds, people started taking pictures of their lockers with their cell phones. Even now, every time (player) Chris Schoenherr comes in, he says, ‘I still can’t believe you did this.’” New florescent light tubes in cleaned fixtures cast a bright, white light throughout, replacing a dingy yellow glow. Walls had been cleaned, textured and painted a shiny white. There were bold stripes in school colors of maroon and gold encircling the room, and motivational words were added along one wall. Wooden benches in front of the lockers had been sanded and repainted. Three huge mirrors were mounted around the room surrounding several new black couches and a black carpet in the center area. Even the room’s flooring was new. Each of the 40 lockers, which dated back decades, had multiple layers of old paint ground off and were replaced by a fresh coat of maroon paint. In addition, gold plastic plates, engraved with each player’s last name and jersey number, were magnetically affixed to each locker. The McKaveney team also cut, painted and installed first-ever shelves in every player’s locker. And, for added effect, each player’s jersey hung neatly inside. When he first conceived of the project, Sean consulted his mom, who owns Pacific Drapery in North Park and has extensive design experience. Using a three-dimensional program on his computer, he created his idea to scale, showing the finished project. “We wanted to improve the lighting in the room and create an environment that was both positive and motivating,” Sean said. A $1,200 budget was granted for the work by the football Boosters Club. Kathleen agreed to cover any overage. Sean said Pointer head coach Mike Hastings trusted him with the room and PLHS Athletic Director John Murphy was a key factor, visiting every day and night during the work phase to open and lock the facility. The McKaveneys worked three different days from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. after a four-day period during which several Pointer players helped. “To see the love and care Sean put into that room really shows what our program is all about by giving back,” Hastings said. The mirrors and florescent lights in the room were free through Craigslist and Bayside Paint came up with the needed paint. North Park Trophy created the nameplates and Kathleen donated items through her drapery business. Kathleen was seated one day next to Tom Bell, parent of returning senior Thomas Bell, lamenting her lack of a solution for the room’s new floor. “I’ll take care of the floor,” Bell said immediately. As it turns out, he owns Bell Tile in Point Loma and floors are a specialty. “Coming out of a clean environment should make our play on the field cleaner and crisper,” Sean said of the upcoming season. “I think it will have a nice psychological effect on the whole team.”