Louisville uses creative offseason workouts for improvement
Louisville women’s basketball decided against using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse during its offseason workouts.
The team met after the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled to begin preparations for the 2020-21 season.
“We shared some laughs and tears, a wide range of emotions,” Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said. “As they all left, we talked about, ‘are we going to be that team that uses the pandemic as an excuse as why we couldn’t get better.’”
With gyms closed and rims removed from backboards at parks, players had to get creative on ways to improve this offseason.
Walz said players did form shooting while laying down, worked on passing and dribbling outside, along with a variety of other ways to develop skills.
“I can honestly say we have gotten better,” Walz said. “We have gotten better individually and watching us through our workouts, we have gotten better as a team.”
Strength and conditioning coach Kaiti Jones led players from the beginning. She asked players what household items were accessible for workouts, building a routine from scratch.
“She was able to carve a training program out of what they had at their house, even if it was empty gallon of milk,” Walz said. “We had kids carrying chairs uphill, just doing whatever they could to figure out a way to get better.”
Louisville’s newcomers have added energy to the team’s workouts thus far.
The Cardinals continue to prepare for the 2020-21 season despite limitations due to COVID-19.
“We are optimistic about what this season could potentially hold,” Walz said. “We know we have to continue to do our job and be diligent what we are doing outside of basketball.”
