With no games WolfPack coaches focusing on the process, not the outcome

Practice these days is to prepare for next season.

But even practice wasn’t available for a while until university sports received varsity exemption.

“We are back to training.” says TRU Athletic Director and Canada West President Curtis Atkinson. “We have our student athletes here — we are in phase two so we are bound to those sports restrictions.”

“It’s a socially distanced practice, which means teaching the game of basketball kind of tough.” says WolfPack men’s coach Scott Clark.

It means no contact.

And with no weekend games to look forward to, the coaches are challenged with keeping their athletes energized and motivated.

“We don’t want the athletes in an outcome mindset.” says Coach Clark. “We want them in a process mindset. More than ever this is about a process. We know at some point we’re going to be able to play. So control the factors that are under your control.”

“Just because we’re so ingrained for competing Friday Saturday.” says women’s volleyball coach Chad Grimm. “What you did in the week is really going to show up. (Now) it’s adjusting to that difference of focusing on skills — being happy that we’re active.”

The cancellation of the season has been disappointing for everyone —- Chad Grimm has spent six years building a team that was expected to be a strong contender had there been a 20-21 season.

“For a team such as ours that is very veteran —- for half the team this is their final year.” says Coach Grimm. “They don’t get to see those years of work come to fruition — to see where it could have gone.”

As the President of Canada West, TRU Athletic Director Curtis Atkinson is in constant communication with his colleagues all across Western Canada.

Atkinson says even though there are no games, from what he has heard from other Athletic Directors and coaches in the conference, TRU is better off than most when it comes to quality practice and sill development, being on the top end of what is being delivered to the athletes.

“Well I think a lot of it is luck.” says Atkinson. “We live in an area of the world where maybe the COVID numbers haven’t been as high. Being in B.C. has helped up. Being in the interior of B.C. where maybe the COVID numbers haven’t been as high over the last eight or ten months.”

The next big date on the calendar for all sports in province is February 5 — when the provincial health office will provide another update on current restrictions.

“We really are hopeful that it will progress to a point in the province where we can have some exhibition games.” says Atkinson. “We did get to that in the fall — and when you compare it to other areas of the country, we probably had more exhibition competition than any other province. Depending on provincial orders and sports restrictions we remain hopeful that perhaps late February or March we can progress to exhibition games again.”

by Earl Seitz

With no games WolfPack coaches focusing on the process, not the outcome

Our Community