(FREDERICTON, NB) In the era of a global pandemic, everyone is getting used to a new normal, Reds’ coaches included.
As people learn to adapt, Reds coaches have traded face-offs for face masks, free throws for physical distancing, and dressing rooms for home offices.
“Not being able to get into our facility has been awful,” said Jeff Speedy, head coach of the Reds women’s basketball team. “We realize why, but that’s really made it hard to get stronger and improve some individual basketball skills. But, on a positive note, with all our on-line activity, I’ve really gotten to know our incoming players, and am really impressed with how close they’ve become with our returning players. It was something I didn’t see coming.”
Speedy’s team saw their 2019-20 season come to an end on February 29th, in a semi-final loss at the Atlantic University Sport championship tournament, before the full impact of the pandemic forced university sports to shut down.
While competition wasn’t interrupted, recruiting and off-season training took on a new look for Speedy’s team.
In the days and weeks that followed, U SPORTS imposed a moratorium on recruiting visits, and it remains in place. Coaches can’t visit recruits, and recruits can’t visit campuses.
All fall competition seasons have been cancelled, and winter competition is on hold until at least January.
The closure of UNB’s Fredericton campus means teams can’t access the Aitken Centre, the Currie Center, the BMO Centre, or the Sir Max Aitken Pool.
So, teams are doing what they can, virtually.
“We’ve done quite a bit on-line,” said Speedy. “We’ve had regular meetings, we’ve had some great guest speakers, we’ve done some on-line workouts for our student-athletes, and we’ll continue all of that. We’re trying to find ways to grow, and our leadership group has done a great job of leading some of our activities as well.”
Among the guest speakers Speedy’s team has heard from, on-line, is Kia Nurse, likely the best-known Canadian women’s basketball player of the day. She’s a member of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, and the cousin of Reds men’s hockey recruit Isaac Nurse.
Speedy, like other coaches, has assigned each athlete a specific at-home work out program designed to build skills, strength, and endurance ahead of any potential return to play.
“We’re using on-line tools right now too, for team meetings and some activities,” said Sarah Hilworth, head coach of the Reds women’s hockey team. “We have leadership meetings every two weeks and team meetings every month. We’ve done this in the past, but there is more of an emphasis on using technology this summer.”
Reds coaches are not alone.
The pandemic is affecting their competition and coaching colleagues in every province.
With no access to facilities, and their student-athletes scattered across the country, coaches have had little choice but to embrace life on-line.
Along with player meetings and activities, and virtual workout sessions, Hilworth took advantage of the increased on-line focus to do some outreach.
She assembled a series of webinars and invited the public to participate.
Hoping to attract young, female hockey players, the series saw interest from athletes from other sports, coaches, and parents.
The hour-long sessions, held on-line once a week for eight weeks, featured experts that focused on subjects ranging from skating skills to nutrition to mental preparation. The series drew participants from across the country.
“I believe it’s my responsibility to give back to the game. That’s why I wanted to create our webinar series,” said Hilworth. “We want to make better hockey players and better people, and the ability to do this across the country by using the on-line world has made our outreach even more significant. I’m proud of the all-female panel that we had assembled, and believe that many of the young female athletes watching saw people like themselves in positions of success.”
Hilworth didn’t keep attendance, but had almost 150 people register for the series. She says the numbers fluctuated week to week.
“From a program perspective, I wanted to make it global, where the focus was hockey, and making better hockey players and people,” said Hilworth. “We wanted the focus to be on giving back and growth of the game more than anything, and expected nothing in return.”
Speedy too used the increased attention to life on-line in an attempt to replace a valuable fund-raiser that was cancelled because of the pandemic.
The ‘Breakfast For Success’ has become an annual affair. It’s a celebration of women’s basketball in the community, and serves as the biggest fund-raiser for Speedy’s team.
Part of the event has always been a silent auction of items donated by sponsors and local businesses.
While the gathering couldn’t happen because of the pandemic, Speedy did put the auction on-line.
“I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but 2020 has been about making the best of some tough situations, so we decided to put most of the items donated to us into an on-line auction,” he said. “Instead of the usual three or four items we usually have to compliment the silent auction at the breakfast, we had dozens of items on the internet.”
The on-line auction raised more than $4000. Not as much as they’ve raised in the past, but acceptable, given the current circumstances.
“It went much better than we thought it would,” said Speedy. “We had over 90 participants and too many bids to count. I heard from a few people who said it was nice to have something different to do and it was great to be engaged with the Reds again.”
Both Speedy and Hilworth say their on-line activities are good, for now.
They look forward to the day they can return to the gym, the ice, and their regular meeting rooms, but Hilworth acknowledges there may be some trying days ahead.
“I anticipate some drawbacks may surface in the fall, so we’ll need to be prepared for anything that comes our way,” she said. “Our on-line activity now could bring a comfort level to the incoming recruits, being able to recognize a face once they arrive on campus.”
“Right now, things are status quo as to what we typically provide in the summer, but once we have students back on campus, we’ll be limited to what we can do with them, so the teams who are able to adapt to the on-line world in the fall could have an advantage if competition resumes in the winter.”