HICKORY -- A profile of Joby Giacalone reads like something out of a comic book.

Most of the time, he's the mild-mannered director of programming and systems development at the University of Virginia, but Giacalone's alter egos include "Homer the Dragon," "Dinger the Dinosaur" and "Cosmo the Sheepdog."

Giacalone is a baseball mascot who trains baseball mascots.

He's a former full-time mascot for the Charlotte Knights (as the original Homer) and the Colorado Rockies (as Dinger). These days, Giacalone, 39, operates Mascot Consulting in his spare time, an organization aimed at training team mascots the tricks of the mascot trade, and still finds a way to make occasional game appearances as Cosmo.

"When we're joking around, I call him Batman," said Mascot Consulting assistant Humphrey Liu. "A mascot almost has to live two different lives."

Monday at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, Giacalone held a mascot training session where mascots participating in Tuesday's South Atlantic League All-Star game were given occupational insight.

Seven mascots, including "Conrad the Crawdad" and "Kickeroo" of the Richmond Kickers, a professional soccer developmental team in Virginia, listened as Giacalone described techniques for better mascoting.

The seven mascots, who declined to be identified by anything but their respective nicknames, sat in front of oversized heads at the lockers of the stadium's visitors' clubhouse to discuss and hear Giacalone's wisdom on a variety of topics:

Dealing with fans: "Signing autographs in the stands is a good way to get hurt."

Knowing your team: "Show them you respect the game, and they will respect you."

Umpires: "They are your friends."

Opposing teams: "They can be a treasure trove for material."

Familiarity with your costume: "Know its weaknesses."

Etiquette: "Don't beat girls or young boys in the mascot race."

The conversation turned more serious when mascots discussed accidents with four-wheelers and dehydration suffered from the hours spent in costume and pounds lost each day from exertion.

"The physical demands are astonishing," Giacalone said. "I think people would be amazed at the work mascots have to go through. When you put on a costume, people expect to be entertained, and that's a daunting task. You sweat like crazy. Typically, guys lose 5 to 8 pounds a night, and that's not healthy."

But these mascots are also heroes to the children in attendance, and that's all the reward they need.

Giacalone remembers an incident when a girl with a prosthetic leg asked him for his signature. "She smiled and said, `Thank you, Homer.' You can't put a price on that. Stuff like that is hard to describe."

"The physical demands are astonishing. I think people would be amazed at the work mascots have to go through."