Shutdown a Test of Players' Leadership, Self-Motivation
The NCAA on Thursday announced that Division I coaches in all sports will be allowed more virtual connection with their teams during the coronavirus crisis that has shut down all athletic activities in America.
Starting Monday and running through May 31, teams will be allowed up to eight hours per week of virtual nonphysical activities such as film review, chalk talks and meetings. All physical activities are still prohibited because of safety issues.
But even with the expanded access, there's only so much coaches can do to keep tabs on their players at a time in which they're scattered across the region while sequestered at home.
It's an unprecedented set of circumstances that, according to NC State coach Dave Doeren, will ultimately become a test of the players' maturity and their ability to self-motivate.
"One thing I told all of them was that this is an opportunity for us because every team has the same issue," Doeren said Wednesday on a Zoom meeting with local media. "It’s going to be a player-led deal as far as ‘are they going to get these things done or not?’
"We can't hold them accountable for working out right now. All we can do is provide information. Those guys have taken it on themselves to have accountability partners that they call every day and check on each other and make sure they're doing the work. We have an opportunity to leapfrog other people that don't do it the right way."
Doeren called the situation a test of his team's leadership, an area that -- because of injuries and other factors -- was severly lacking in 2019 while the Wolfpack struggled to a 4-8 record that included six straight losses to end the season.
While not every player has the same resources at their disposal, especially when it comes to weight training and conditioning, Doeren said it's important for everyone to maintain a specific routine.
"This isn't a vacation for them. This is still get up and work out and get your academic work done and try to eat to the best of your ability the right things," the State coach said. "I do think it's going to teach a lot of independence amongst this group and I think that's a good thing.
"There's a lot of monitoring at the college level and now they're having to monitor themselves. The bottom line is that if you have a goal and you want it to be real, you have to make sure that you're living up to that with your actions day-in and day-out. This is going to show us who's really serious about it. When they come back here, how out of shape or how in shape are you?"
As difficult as it is to monitor the players' physical progress during the shutdown, making sure they stay on track academically can be even more of a challenge.
Everything from class lectures, tutoring sessions and peer mentoring to turning in assignments is being done online while State's campus is closed.
"Some of our guys are from the country and so not always being able to have WiFi has been an issue for some of them," Doeren said. "Obviously, all of the schooling now requires internet connection and all those things that go with it. We’ve had to ship some laptops to some guys that did not have them. That's part of what we've had to do.
"Our academic staff and our coaches have done a phenomenal job just trying to help these guys get in routines. I think they deserve a lot of credit in the academic center for the amount of work that's gone into this because obviously none of them were prepared for this to be how we tutor and how we stay in contact with our athletes. But I guess until we see the results of it, it's hard to really (know) how it's going."
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