The successes Colorado State has experienced so far are due in large part to the work of DeZeeuw, according to CSU director of athletics Joe Parker. He stressed it has been a collaborative effort on campus with the pandemic team, as well as health partners UCHealth and Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies. The health screenings being done this year are more intensive because of the pandemic, DeZeeuw said.
“Like so many things we do, it’s been a highly collaborative process and efforts, and relying on our own expertise within our own university,” Parker said. “When you have a Tier 1 research institution, there’s no lack of information and expertise you can draw upon. That’s been extremely helpful, and I can’t underscore hard enough the values of someone like Terry DeZeeuw on our staff. He has a wonderful approach to everything he does, and he operates from a strong base of knowledge.”
The fact the plan so far has worked is encouraging for moving forward. Football has been isolated at Canvas Stadium, with the concourse becoming the weight room, and social distancing is a breeze for conditioning on the playing surface and adjacent practice fields. With the introduction of arena sports, some of the same plans remain in place, but other precautions become necessary. Soccer being outdoors is helpful, but the team will also use the same weight room as the basketball and volleyball teams.
“We’ve been able to really nail down the process and identify the things that are maybe challenges and things that are going to take a little bit more time and things we thought were going to go smoothly,” DeZeeuw said. “We’ve been able to reassess those. With the arena sports, certainly it’s a different dynamic. You’ve got multiple sports vying for single facilities versus Canvas Stadium, where we have a wide-open facility.
“It certainly changes the dynamics, and there are some logistical factors we’ve had to consider that are different than football. As we get going officially with that phase of it next week, I’m sure we’ll learn a few things and make a tweak to the plan, but conceptually, the things we put in place for football are carried over and we’re planning on using the same model over at the arena sports.”
Scheduling the teams is key, he said, not just for practice time but for the weight room in particular. Keeping groups small and spacing them out will aid the process of keeping equipment sanitized and safe.
The idea of getting back to work has invigorated student-athletes, even in the middle of a pandemic. The notion of being cautious and not being overly stressed has not always been easy to navigate. The risks and rewards have all been detailed.
“It’s not something we can completely prevent. Worrying about it too much past the point of being smart and trying to do everything we can to prevent it isn’t going to really help us a whole lot,” senior volleyball libero Alexa Roumeliotis said. “It’s trying to minimize the probability of it happening, but at the same time, not canceling our entire season or school year because of it. It’s something we’re definitely taking into consideration as we all get back on campus.
“I’m really excited about it. I think we all like playing volleyball and have missed it. Just getting back on the court and getting back to our daily routine of it will be nice for us.”
Quarantine fatigue has become all too real to many around the world, and DeZeeuw has found opening up a sport to the student-athletes has helped alleviate some of what they were feeling. Getting out of the house to work out has been a needed step mentally as much as physically for them, so they are more encouraged to remain vigilant in health practices once they leave.
Hubbard lives with three other teammates – Marcus McElroy, A’Jon Vivens and Livingston Paogofie. Like many of their peers, they’ve had their fill of Call of Duty and Fortnite. They’ve ridden their bikes and skateboards on their street to get outside. They’ve even resorted to board games – rarely, Hubbard said – to pass the time.
When the urge hits to do something more, the promise of a fall season keeps them alert.
“I go back and forth with it. Sometimes I go, ‘I want to go out, I’m tired of sitting in the house, it’s boring, it’s gloomy.’ There are times I’m like, this is my senior year, this is my last season, I don’t know what will happen if there is no season,” Hubbard said. “I’m doing the best I can to stay in this house, stay quarantined, stay away from catching COVID-19. I want to have that senior season, and I want other seniors on other teams to have their season, as well.”
Colorado State’s universal campus approach has proven effective, as have weekly meetings between Mountain West athletic directors, where successes have been shared to be practiced by the whole. Those talks extend to others in collegiate sports, as everyone involved is taking advantage of all information to be shared.
The phasing in approach has worked for Colorado State, and the lessons learned in the past month will be continued forward. As the indoor teams move into place, DeZeeuw expects more will be gleaned from the process as the athletic department brings all 16 programs into the fold over time.
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