CEDAR RAPIDS – Doug Leaverton was working as a server in a restaurant back home in suburban Cleveland when he read on the Internet that the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders had run out of assistant coaches.

Travis Winter left the club to take a head coaching position in the NAHL. Phil Tetzlaff was relieved of his duties.

So he figured as many times as head coach Mark Carlson had helped him during his days as a RoughRiders player, it was time to pay him back a little and learn about the game while wearing a suit and tie instead of a jersey.

“I called up coach and asked him if he needed help,” Leaverton said. “I just want to come in and help out the team any way I can. It might be something I want to get into down the road, and there’s no one better to learn from than coach Carlson. Just the way he runs the team, runs the organization is always impressive and first class. Overall, it’s just a great opportunity to be back here.”

“When he said he wanted to help, we welcomed him back with open arms,” Carlson said.