State schools staying ready to play ball
A cautious optimism surrounds college football coaches around the state of Oklahoma.
The COVID-19 pandemic has the sports world at a standstill, and even with a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of reopening cities, the looming idea of no 2020 season hangs over coaches everywhere.
The Oklahoman polled five state colleges spanning Division II and Al le nJ U CO di vi
si ons, asking whether or not the season should be played. Not one head coach ruled out the prospect of a 2020 football season. Instead, each coach refused pessimism, saying they'll be ready to take the field when the time is right, and everything's safe.
“Obviously, we al l want to work, we all do this for areas on ,” Northwestern Oklahoma State football coach Matt Walter said. “None of us want to be sitting at home on our computers all day every day. We want to be with our players, that's why we love doing what we do.”
Due to the corona virus, many coaches and players were left without spring football sessions for the first
ever. Coaches are now allowed just eight hours a week of communication with their players through virtual means.
“We've had plenty of meetings online, texts and calls back-and-forth ,” Northeastern Oklahoma A& M coach Zach Allen said. “That's been good, but it' s nothing compared to that interaction you have on a daily basis of getting out there and getting better on the field, in the classroom and in the weight room.”
Despite the lack of faceto-face interaction, there has been a silver lining for most. The absence of spring football has given them opportunities to take care of tasks that wouldn't get done without the extra time off.
“I' ve made a couple manuals and playbooks that are years overdue,” Allen said with a laugh. “Been able to access quite a bit of different game films and drill tapes and things that I probably wouldn't have sought after if it wasn't for the free time.”
Many said t he use of teleconference applications, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, could be utilized in the future for both position group meetings and recruiting purposes.
Central Oklahoma coach Nick Bobeck found these programs especially useful.
“It's really kind of been an eye-opening deal for me ,” Bo beck said. “We'll do team calls every morning at 8 a.m. by position group, just to make sure kids are up and to set them on a routine for their academics and so forth.”
When asked about the prospect of playing in empty stadium sin the fall, each coach said they would be open to playing anywhere that allowed the game to be played in a safe way. There happened to be one recurring location that could only come to the minds of football coaches: the parking lot.
“I wouldn't care if we played in a parking lot,” Southwestern Oklahoma State coach Chet Pobolish said. “Just to be with our kids, regardless of football, I would do anything to have that opportunity. I'll play in a parking lot, I'll play in a field, it doesn't matter… As long as it's safe.”