Changes Could Be Coming At Doug Kingsmore In 2021
Over the last few months, society has been adjusting to what many refer to as the "new normal." During these unusual times surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we're reminded on a daily basis that we may never go back to the way things used to be.
The pandemic has already robbed Monte Lee and his Clemson Baseball program of most of their 2020 season. Despite next season still being many months away, Lee says officials at the school are already looking into ways to ensure player safety.
Although he isn't sure what those measures will be as of yet, they are exploring all options available to them.
"I could see their being quite a few measures taken next year," Lee told AllClemson.com in an exclusive interview. "What does that look like? We're not there yet. When we shake hands after games, that's something could potentially change. Do we do temperature checks when the guys come into the stadium? We just don't know yet."
The baseball season was in full swing when the pandemic hit, and before the season came to a premature end, Lee says the school had already begun the process of implementing new safety protocols.
"We were just at the beginning of this when it happened, as far as trying to take some of those precautions," Lee said. "Even the week our season was shut down, we had begun the process of trying to make some adjustments from a health and safety standpoint."
As things stand today, no one knows what next season will look like. However, unless something drastic changes it is safe to assume that some of the measures the team was planning to take this season will be in place for 2021.
"One of the measures that we were taking," Lee said, "was, once the game was over, we weren't allowing our guys to go into the stands to see their families."
"We were letting the crowds clear first," Lee said. "And then telling the guys to go in and shower and turn in their laundry so we could wash it and clean it effectively. And they could shower, make sure they were clean, before they go into the stands to see their family."
Still being so far out from Opening Day of 2021, it's just to early to predict what fans can expect in Doug Kingsmore Stadium next season. Right now everything is in a holding pattern, and the school will just have to take a wait and see approach.
"We haven't gotten that list of policies and procedures yet," Lee said. "We obviously will make sure that is a priority going into next fall and into next spring as far as what type of adjustments we need to make to make sure the guys are safe. We're just not quite sure what that looks like yet."