What can UM active winter teams (bball, hockey, wrestling, etc.) actually do during the ath dept shutdown?
For context, the St. Louis Billikens men's bball team (AP #22) played their first game in about one full month last night after an extended covid shutdown and lost - looking very "rusty" in the process. Michigan teams are only looking at 2 weeks of shutdown (presently - hopefully no longer... and maybe even shortened with rigorous testing and contact tracing), restricting all official games, practices, workouts, etc. Yet it seems that "unofficial" activity could still happen - ranging from home workouts to... who knows what.
There must be alternatives available to some extent. Just ~40mins south in Ohio, fitness centers, full court gyms and indoor ice skate arenas are open for use to the public. Or groups of individuals from the same team (who are already in mutual close contact regularly) could just play "pickup" games in ad-hoc locations around town/campus.
Realistically, what options exist that don't break the "letter of the law" (guidance, in fact)? There are sure to be areas of innovative work-arounds available here.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:03 AM ^
Push-ups by themselves.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:06 AM ^
Study?
January 27th, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
Yes, but they should be doing that regardless of their athletic status.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:06 AM ^
Having players play pick up games or going to another state kinda defeats the purpose of a shutdown.
I imagine they'll be allowed to workout individually or with a roommate in their homes and maybe exercise outside. I imagine that's probably about it right now. I'm betting that the S&C coaches sent players home with some basic equipment to use at home for the two weeks.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:36 AM ^
To clarfiy: by "pickup" games I mean maybe having the the starters play vs scout team (or other similar combinations)... maybe in an outdoor court or other "non-official" space - no contact with individuals outside the team (and not supervised by coaches/staff).
January 27th, 2021 at 10:43 AM ^
I understand what you meant.
Agree or disagree with the decision, but letting players living in different spaces interact with each other defeats the whole purpose of the shutdown.
January 27th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
This is a horrific idea. You can get this over and done with in 2 weeks by quarantining. Why would you want to jeopardize that and invite even longer shutdown by interacting with others, which is why we are in this situation to begin with?
January 27th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
The athletes can obviously work out in their homes. I'm sure they have a number of strength training excercises, they probably all own basketballs that they will be dribbling.
They can use the time to get healthy, they can use the time to focus on school.
The big men can work on their foot work.
I can't believe I have to explain that they will probably be watching film.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
I don't know how Michigan basketball, in particular, is housed. Roommates should be able to practice one-on-one. And here you can actually maintain a significant, functional level of skill during a time like this. At this time, halfway through the season, there is little being added to the playbook. This is far from ideal but these young men are not going to forget how to play in a matter of several weeks.
January 27th, 2021 at 11:22 AM ^
I hope you are right.
January 27th, 2021 at 9:19 AM ^
Your Mom
January 27th, 2021 at 9:33 AM ^
Vent frustrations on MGoBlog? It seems to help for some people
January 27th, 2021 at 9:43 AM ^
Bong rips and keg stands
January 27th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
Yahtzee!
January 27th, 2021 at 9:58 AM ^
I haven’t been following this too much but what is the shutdown supposed to accomplish? What I mean is, does the AD hope the virus is magically gone in two weeks? Are the athletes locked in their rooms until the lockdown is lifted?
January 27th, 2021 at 10:23 AM ^
22 cases in a week. That is more than the weeks that cut the football season short.
It could just be a surge from uncorrelated infections due to holiday travel. Spread between teams due to interaction at the same facility would be a red flag, I think. Not clear if that happened, or if they could even identify that as an infection route given the off campus travel. Probably should have quarantined everyone on return to AA, better late than never.
January 27th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
I don’t believe that the athletes are in quarantine or on lockdown. The department is on a 2-week shutdown. So, I would assume that the players still workout, shoot hoops outdoors, etc.
January 27th, 2021 at 10:14 AM ^
This is a quote from the press release: Team members (student-athletes, coaches, and team staff) must immediately isolate/quarantine effective Jan. 23 until further notice and up to 14 days (Feb. 7).
Which makes it sound an awful lot like they are meant to quarantine.
January 27th, 2021 at 10:25 AM ^
It's getting cold, hockey players ought to be able to find some frozen pond to skate on.
January 27th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
NBA 2K
January 27th, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
They can study. You know, like being a student.
January 27th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Which they should be doing anyway - regardless of their athletic status. The question was about how to maintain their athletic competivness - which is why they (mostly) have a free ride to study.
January 27th, 2021 at 11:07 AM ^
Franz should take the men's team to quarantine at Mo's place in DC. Then they can all work out in the gym that Mo installed in the neighboring condo. After all, that worked for Franz all summer.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
Giant hamster wheels in dorm rooms.
January 27th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
I'm sure they could go go Toledo or they could go to various gyms / courts that are open in Ann Arbor. However, the idea behind the shutdown is for players to isolate, so doing that would defeat the purpose of it (I'm not arguing for/against the merits of the shutdown). I imagine players can do their own individual training w/ equipment they have.
January 27th, 2021 at 1:07 PM ^
I assume they'll have them work out at home/with people they already live with. Most of these athletes are pretty regimented already, and I assume can keep focused for a couple of weeks. I really do hope they adhere to the rules of the quarantine for however long it's in effect, though, or we're likely to see this drag out longer than it needs to.