Coaches, players adapt to virtual workouts, learning
Necessity has fostered not only creativity, but tools area coaches can employ in future seasons.
When area schools were closed after spring break, instruction was to be conducted through online applications rather than face-to-face interaction for both coaches and teaches. One of the residual effects of COVID-19 is that area coaches are exploiting new means of doing their jobs by utilizing social media.
Google Classroom, Zoom and other apps are being used to find ways of connecting coaches and athletes, whether for workouts, practice sessions, showing instructional videos or motivational videos — or other uses that are still being formulated.
“I can’t imagine what it would have been like 20 years ago and I didn’t have a chance to see the kids,” Edison girls basketball coach Angie Johnson said. “It’s really a benefit that we can see the kids and have an interaction.”
When spring break ended and the University Interscholastic League announced March 19 that all practices and games would be suspended, East Central athletic director Suzette Arriola said Hornets coaches spent the rest of the week learning the technology.
“Everyone had to learn this whole virtual thing, and get used to it,” Arriola said. “I (already required) them to be on two social media platforms between Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and a lot of them use the Team app, so that the kids and parents can reach them.
“Our coaching staff has been thinking out of the box and finding creative ways to reach kids.”
The UIL canceled the boys state basketball tournament and spring sports on April 17. The organization allows players five hours per week of home practice time, now that all sports are outside their seasons.
Hornets boys basketball coach James Rabon expanded his usage of the Team app he’d been using throughout the season to post a calendar, photos and other team-related items.
Now, he’s using additional technology to take the place of on-campus workouts. He has a weekly instructional focus and asks his players to film themselves executing the tasks. Then he watches the film and evaluates their performance. East Central is working on things like footwork and ballhandling.
Rabon predicts the crisis ultimately will bring teams closer.
“It has been great because it helps parents stay on top of what coaches are teaching them and helps us stay in contact with kids,” he said, “which is important in these crazy times we’re in.”
Lanier girls basketball and volleyball coach Laura Negrete-Fernandez said workouts are tailored to what’s available in the household, which varies from player to player. Some players don’t have a basketball or the two that some workouts require.
Among the items being used for weight training and conditioning are paint cans, three-liter soda bottles and empty milk gallons that can be filled with water or other elements so that they vary in weight.
As in the classroom or in practice, different players have adapted to the new normal at different intervals.
“A lot of our kids are having trouble with virtual learning,” Negrete-Fernandez said. “They need that one-on-one. We don’t want to bombard them. It has been really hard to help them balance it.”
