Weekend warriors
Mids prepared for doubleheaders during Patriot League play
Throughout his 10-year tenure as Navy men’s basketball coach, Ed DeChellis has become accustomed to a typical schedule format for the Patriot League portion of the schedule.
Conference contests are held twice per week — usually Wednesday and Saturday, except for occasional exceptions.
That familiar routine has been upended this season because of the coronavirus pandemic. To minimize travel and eliminate overnight stays, the Patriot League has developed a weekend doubleheader format with the same schools playing each other on consecutive days in a home-and-home arrangement.
A grueling two months begins this weekend when Navy (3-1) hosts Bucknell (0-0) at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The two teams will then turnaround and travel to Lewisburg for rematch at 6 p.m. Sunday.
DeChellis, along with every other coach in the conference, has spent considerable time contemplating the best approach to playing two games each weekend through Feb. 21.
“Things are going to be a lot different and we’ve talked to the players at length about being flexible and controlling what we can control,” DeChellis said. “We need to be a resilient team throughout the conference season. There are going to be challenges along the way and we will need to overcome them.”
DeChellis, in his 39th season as a collegiate coach, reached out to colleagues in the Ivy League for some intel. That league has been playing two games per weekend (either Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday) for years.
Of course, DeChellis also consulted with his assistant coaches and support personnel, notably strength and conditioning coordinator
Brandon Spayd and athletic trainer Hannah Jaussen.
“We put a plan together and implemented it starting this week,” DeChellis said.
Navy men’s basketball will adjust the way it normally does business in terms of weekly preparation. Players will be given Mondays off with instructions to focus on rest and recovery.
Practice will begin Tuesday with lots of shooting, half-speed drilling of offensive and defensive sets capped by conditioning. DeChellis will conduct full-speed practices with plenty of live scrimmaging every Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’ll go hard those two days in terms of intensity and physicality,” he said.
Fridays will consist of an hour-long walkthrough and some shooting with the goal of making sure the players are fresh for the weekend.
Playing at home to start the weekend is a slight advantage because it makes rest and recovery easier. Following Saturday’s game, Navy players will immediately head to the training room in Halsey Field House.
Jaussen will use cold tubs, recovery boots and electrical stimulation to jumpstart the recovery process. She described the recovery boot as a pump that adds compression to various areas of the legs, starting with the toes and working upward.
“The premise of each recovery modality is to activate the lymphatic system, which flushes out all the toxins that build up after exercise,” she explained.
Players that need to do so will receive additional treatment Sunday morning.
There will be no break for the coaching staff, which will quickly turn its attention to breaking down tape of Saturday’s game. There will be an online meeting Saturday night to discuss any adjustments to the scouting report or game plan.
“We’ll Zoom [video conference] with the players to discuss the game, go through some clips and talk about what we might want to do differently on Sunday,” DeChellis said. “It will be a busy 48 hours and both days will be extremely long and tiring. You can’t complain about it; you have to embrace it.”
Nutrition and refueling is a key part of the process and plenty of thought has been put into that strategy as well. Scott Maher, Navy’s assistant athletic director for dietetics and sports performance, is assisting in that area.
Maher worked with King Hall to deliver postgame meals to Alumni Hall. Naval Academy dining services will also prepare boxed lunches for road trips. This Sunday,
Navy’s players and coaches will review the Saturday game and eat the pregame meal during the 3 1⁄2-hour bus ride to Lewisburg.
“We want to load these guys up with tons of carbs during those 48 hours prior to competition,” Spayd said. “That involves controlling the menu to avoid fried foods and sodas — things our bodies don’t utilize in an effective manner.”
Spayd has made slight adjustments to the typical strength and conditioning program, too. Players will engage in “aggressive” weightlifting Tuesday instead of Monday with the second session of the week still being held Thursday, albeit a bit scaled back.
“Basically, we want to get the players to peak for the weekend. It resembles what college football teams do as far as getting players to feel fresh and rejuvenated by weekend,” Spayd said. “Later in the season, when there is more accumulated fatigue to bodies and players have various ailments, we will manipulate what we do in terms of strength training.”
Jaussen and Spayd meet regularly with the coaching staff to discuss the physical progress of players. Those battling nagging injuries will need more rest during games in order to make it through a doubleheader weekend.
“I think we’ve done a great job as a staff of managing minutes for certain players,” Spayd said.
Spayd has harped on the importance of sleep, especially Thursday through Saturday. Jaussen talked about the importance of taking a “holistic” approach Monday through Friday to ensure players get through a two-game weekend.
“We need to be smart about which days to push them and which days to pull back a bit,” she said.
One of the greatest concerns for DeChellis involves traveling the same day as road games at Bucknell and Lafayette. Normally, Navy would travel the night before, staying in a hotel in Lewisburg or Easton.
“I think the teams that can knock off the long bus ride and be ready to play are going to be successful,” he said.
Spayd has been charged with putting together a pregame routine designed to do just that. It starts with having the Midshipmen arrive at Sojka Pavilion earlier than normal Sunday to shake off the cobwebs.
“Everyone is in the same boat as far as travel, so there’s really no advantage or disadvantage,” Jaussen said. “Whichever team is ready to go at 6 p.m. on Sunday. You can’t have any excuses.”
Navy has a veteran team led by six seniors and juniors that are part of the regular rotation. The Midshipmen have displayed solid depth so far with 10 players averaging double-digit minutes.
“Bench play is going to be very important. There’s no doubt the teams that can play more guys will have an advantage,” DeChellis said. “I think we’re in a pretty good situation in terms of depth. I like our second wave of guys.”
Navy senior captain Cam Davis believes mindset and attitude will make the difference each weekend.
“I think this setup is going to work out in our favor. We pride ourselves on being in the best shape of any team in the conference,” Davis said. “It all comes down to preparation.
“I think our team will be focused and handle it fine.”