Chris Kapilovic on Michigan State Extra Time Learning

Chris Kapilovic the Michigan State Spartan football offensive line coach discusses benefits of more classroom time, with the loss of on-field play.

East Lansing, MI— Chris Kapilovic has a difficult job training an offensive line with his players scattered around the nation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But can one silver lining of the crisis be that while the Michigan State Spartan football team has lost time on the field, they have gained significantly more time working in the classroom

“As we go through this time period, we’re getting more time to spend together in a meeting setting than we probably normally would. If you take out spring ball, you’re looking at typically April 15 to the end of May; we’re on the road recruiting. There aren’t many meetings. Just looking at what we think this is going to go to, we are going to have more time to have meetings and walk through the different things that we want to do. Myself, or my (graduate) assistant Jack Harris, we have to be creative on just the different kind of videos we are using to train off of. We’ve got apps that we are using to quiz and test them. We’re just trying to find different ways to stimulate the brain and keep them locked in so we can continue to learn. On the mental side of it, we’re probably going to be ahead, but it’s still until you can do it, you can never really get it truly ingrained in your head. All kids learn differently, so you’re asking a lot of kids to be able to learn just through visualization and talking through it. A lot of kids need that walkthrough and those reps. So that’s the part that you aren’t going to be able to do, and we are going to have to play catch up when we get on the field. I think there are some benefits, but nothing like being on the field and being able to do it.”

 The Spartans kick off the season on September 5, 2020. They will be hosting in the Northwestern Wildcats with a rare, season-opening Big Ten game.

 Tell us what you think of the outlook Chris Kapilovic has during the COVID-19 pandemic and what the long-term ramifications will be for Spartan football.

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