Phoenix Rising FC finds silver lining amid uncertainty this season,
Sports have been pushed to the backburner because of the coronavirus pandemic, and members of Phoenix Rising FC are feeling the impact.
“The worst part about it is you have unbelievable weather in Phoenix this time of year. Our fields have never looked so nice,” said Rick Schantz, the thirdyear head coach of the Valley’s premier professional soccer club. “It’s an awful tease.”
Schantz still spent his Tuesday morning lingering around Casino Arizona Field, clinging onto any semblance of familiarity and routine that he would, otherwise, experience during the club’s 34match regular season schedule that kicked off on March 7.
But, aside from a few quick visits to his team’s stomping grounds, Schantz has been holed up indoors, following government recommendations to practice social distancing.
Schantz said he realized the severity of what’s essentially evolved into an unprecedented situation fairly early on, but that didn’t change how he initially felt when he learned of the USL Championship’s decision to temporarily suspend matches and training sessions.
“It kind of pulled my heart out of my chest, and then made me realize ‘OK, there’s a bigger picture than just (soccer),’” Schantz said.
“Public safety and health is more important for everyone in our community, and that’s really all we’re thinking about.”
Understanding an unusual scenario
Jordan Schweitzer, one of Rising FC’s 10 newcomers, said he’s fortunate because his mother and step-father moved to Arizona nearly two-and-a-half years ago.
Many of the club’s players, particularly those with roots in Europe, don't have loved ones nearby.
“I never imagined this in a million years, but it keeps you on your toes…and looking at those things that you can control moving forward,” said Schweitzer, a 25-year-old midfielder who appeared in 67 matches for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the last two seasons.
Schweitzer said most of the players weren’t caught off guard by the league’s plan to halt play because they had been following other professional sports leagues' decisions as COVID-19 spread.
“I think it was something that as players, we expected to come,” Schweitzer said. “Once we saw the trajectory of kind of the potential path the league was going to take, I think that was the most awkward time as players, and I’m sure we’re not the only profession in that gray area.”
Originally, Schantz said he was informed that the delay would just be a matter of days.
But, after the USL adhered to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to avoid gatherings of 50 or more people for eight weeks, and extended the temporary suspension in place, it’s shaping up to be a two-month plus moratorium.
Now, Rising FC’s hot-start has shifted into a mini, second offseason, of sorts.
Schweitzer said the transition has been interesting — basically moving from the official offseason into a successful preseason and back into an extended period of downtime.
“At first, I was itching to get going,” Schweitzer said.
“We’re staying as busy as we can as far as the soccer side of things go (and) trying to stay as close as we can to the level that we were at because we put in a ton of good work.”
The players and staff are scattered across the state, which means they have had to work hard with the resources they have in their homes, or online.
They've learned much can be accomplished via technology.
Schantz is confident that tactical handouts, scripted fitness packets and designated, daily check-ins with assistant coaches will account for the lost time.
He said he’s not concerned about players taking a step back during this strange period of isolation.
“We’re able now, to use different mediums to teach them the same information,” said Schantz, adding he expects the club to pick up right where it left off when they regroup.
“Once you have a team that understands one another, and how you want to play the game, and they all commit to it, (and) believe in the system and the style, as long as they’re motivated, that’s a hard team to beat.”