Prep coaches accept virtual reality
Early this spring as we learned more about the coronavirus, high school coaches around Wisconsin were trying to get a handle on something else. Virtual coaching.
When all in-person class instruction in the state was suspended and later canceled for the remainder of the school year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, prep coaches were left with the challenge of engaging their athletes in a way they never had before.
Coaching in this spring of social distancing has been new and somewhat undefined.
“I don't think anyone knows what it is,” Franklin softball coach Jenny Rechlicz said. “For me, I think it's whatever works for my program.”
In a normal year, the WIAA spring season would be reaching its peak right now. Postseason play was scheduled to begin this week in all sports except boys golf and girls soccer, which would have started next week.
However, in a spring we won't forget, this week marks the culmination of weeks of video conferences, individual workouts and team challenges. The goal was to give athletes the chance to get something out of a spring season that couldn't provide the traditional payoffs of playing time plus individual and team success.
Call it making the best of a tough situation.
“We want to use this time, not waste this time,” Divine Savior Holy Angels softball coach Thomas Montgomery said. “It would be really easy to say 'The season is canceled, That's it. See you next spring.' … We're going to find ways to get better.”
Coaches tried to do that while shifting focus as the spring wore on. When schools closed initially, there was still hope for a season. Some coaches planned their workouts accordingly, focusing on tactical preparation while continuing skill development.
After in-person instruction was shut down for the remainder of the year, the focus for some changed to things like fitness, team building and helping players prepare for the club season or college. Sometimes athletes simply needed to be coached through the disappointment of losing the season.
That was the case at Catholic Memorial, where girls soccer coach John
Burke expected to have one strongest teams ever.
“A parent of one our players is a professional life coach, so that was a massive blessing,” he said. “She would do Zoom meetings and lead the kids through thinking about the grieving process, how they can engage disappointment in positive ways. This phase of the virtual coaching has been about how to turn a devastating moment in your life into something that is positive and memorable.”
While the impact of in-person coaching, or teaching for that matter, can't be matched virtually, coaches have found ways to make positive impacts this spring, helping athletes maintain fitness, build leadership qualities and establish a level of camaraderie.
Shorewood boys and girls track and field coach Dominic Newman and his staff had a season's worth of workouts to offer their runners. Newman also connected with former prep standouts
of
his like Homestead graduate Drew Bosley, who just completed his freshman year at Northern Arizona, and Gale-EttrickTrempealeau product Dana Feyen, who was a freshman at Iowa State this year.
DSHA softball had an organized activity six days each week with the most intense coming on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Montgomery also offered supplemental drills for those looking for more work and personal practice plans for those who wanted one.
"One of the biggest goals we had for our coaching staff going into all of this was to actually keep them together," Montgomery said. "It was much more about they need to see each other through video three times a week than developing skills. We focused on that a lot."
Franklin softball and Catholic Memorial girls soccer, two senior-laden teams, took advantage of that experience by allowing those seniors to take on large roles in their team's activities.
At Memorial, each senior had a day of the week when she was responsible for posting a fitness challenge. At Franklin, each senior led a handful of younger players through workouts.
“For me, that was the coolest part, just seeing our returners step up into that leadership role because a lot of them really hadn't had that opportunity,” Rechlicz said. “I had eight seniors this year. Five of them have been with me since freshman year. They've been itching to get some leadership role.”
That all has helped keep athletes engaged, but as the season wore on, it has been harder to maintain that interest.
But that's fine as far as Newman is concerned.
“We told them that's OK,” he said. “We sent the plan(s) out. They're there if you want it. We can help you adjust, but it's OK. This is a time that you can explore other things and not feel guilty about it. … It's OK. We're not going to hold that against you.”