Liberty Teams Strictly Follow Guidelines, Hoping for a Safe Return to Competition

Unprecedented times in college athletics call for unprecedented precautions. But for Liberty’s student-athletes, these precautions are necessary steps to take before a full return to sports can happen.

Prior to attending practice, all athletes must report any possible COVID-19 symptoms and get their temperature checked by the athletic training staff. If all is well, they are cleared and given a wristband that grants them access to the athletic facilities for that day.

Even after being cleared by the trainer, athletes are expected to wear a mask and maintain social distancing rules while at team events and practice.

To accommodate social distancing guidelines, squat racks in the weight room are limited to one athlete at a time. According to Director of Track & Field and Cross-Country Lance Bingham, this change has been a challenge due to his team’s large
roster size.

“We’re splitting our groups up more, so it takes a longer to go through the weight room,” Bingham said.

Social distancing outside of the weight room, however, has been easy for track athletes who are already used to training in smaller event groups. For a team who holds a lot of their practices on East Campus near the indoor track, social distancing is already the norm.

“When we get inside the weight room, doing drills, stretching and that type of thing, we have to be a lot more conscious about it,” Bingham said.

While masks are not required outside, they are enforced for team meetings and other large group functions. Regarding testing protocol, the men’s and women’s track and field teams have been tested as a team once, but Bingham believes that testing will occur more often as they get closer to competition.

For the women’s volleyball team, following COVID-19 guidelines is slightly more challenging. Unlike track and field, the volleyball team spends the majority of its practices as a large group. When social distancing cannot be followed, other safeguards must be put into place.

“We practice with masks on. I coach with masks on,” Head Volleyball Coach Trevor Johnson said. “We try and stay away from each other as much as we can.”

Sanitation and good hygiene are also a huge part of the team’s practice routine. They make sure to wash their equipment and hands thoroughly after each practice.

But the biggest change for the volleyball team has been their practice facilities. Practices were originally held at the LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center, but the team decided to move practice to their former home on East Campus to avoid contact with other students. The change should be temporary, however, as the team anticipates the completion of the new Liberty Arena, which will feature a practice gym and locker rooms for the team.

Although following the guidelines may present some challenges for the athletes, staying healthy is the best way to ensure a return to competition in the spring. 

Volleyball senior Kainah Williams believes staying in a “bubble” away from other students is a necessary precaution that she and her teammates must take in order to have a season. 

“I think we were all pretty motivated to just stay (as) socially distanced from other people outside of our team as possible. Knowing that we will potentially have a season in January, I think that is extra motivation,” Williams said.

Some teams are at risk of losing their second straight season to COVID-19. Nevertheless, track and field senior Branson Rolle is optimistic about the possibility of returning to his sport in this spring.

“In terms of what we’re doing here, I think we’re doing what we need to do to stay healthy and keep everybody on the team healthy,” Rolle said.

The road to competing in 2021 is a long one for coaches and student-athletes alike, but in this time of uncertainty, Johnson has learned to deal with these challenges one day at a time.

“Throughout this pandemic we’ve learned to deal with today,” Johnson said. “Our job is just how good can we get with today. Tomorrow is not promised.”

Mario Cosentino is a Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @runner_of_steel.