Who’s Zoomin’ who? With UK football physical distancing, it’s video to the rescue.
Truth be told, Mark Stoops jumped the gun. When the coronavirus pandemic shut down Kentucky football’s spring practice and moved the Wildcats off-campus, the head coach needed a way to keep in touch with and get information to his players.
Like most everyone in America right now, the program opted for video conferencing. “We worked on it already and had some academic meetings and touched back with our players through Zoom,” said Stoops last Friday of the video conferencing app while conducting a media video call on the Zoom app.
But then the coach was informed, well, maybe he better hit the pause button.
“I hope I’m not incriminating myself here right now, but then our compliance office let me know that the NCAA is talking about putting something out there where we can communicate with them and have team meetings and position meetings with these guys a couple hours a day.”
Last Friday, the SEC gave its blessing. After first declaring video conferencing a no-no, the league announced that, starting Monday, all 14 members would be allowed to conduct virtual film reviews. The league sent updated guidelines regarding team and group meetings to its schools.
The new guidelines allow two hours of mandatory instruction or meetings per week. Players are allowed to put in more individual time, if they so choose.
The SEC does forbid coaches from virtual monitoring of players working out or doing physical activity. And coaches are not allowed to tell players to make their workouts or physical activity available by other means.
The Big 12 followed suit on Monday, approving video conferencing between coaches and athletes through May 31. Like the SEC, the Big 12 ruled that the conferencing could be conducted for up to two hours per week. According to the Big 12, the virtual meetings can be used for “film study, technical discussions and tactical sessions.”
Meanwhile, the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 only suspended “organized team activities” which allowed their coaches to hold both academic and athletic meetings with their student athletes. On Monday, the Pac-12 confirmed it would allow virtual meetings through May 31.
Not that this is anything new, mind you. Since the first iPad was introduced in 2010, programs have been using tablets for player instruction and virtual playbooks. NFL teams can be seen using Microsoft Surface tablets on the sideline as part of a sponsorship deal between the league and Microsoft.
The NCAA allows coaches to use electronic devices in the press box and in the locker room during games, but doesn’t allow tablets to be used on the sidelines. Not yet, anyway.
Virtual meetings are already taking place in recruiting, however. Last week, Kansas football coach Les Miles held a virtual junior day for recruits, giving them campus and facilities tours as well as presentations about academics and nutrition. From an opening introduction by Miles and his staff, recruits were to feel like they were taking a visit to the Lawrence campus.
So Zoom isn’t just for business meetings and academics, where former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning recently made a surprise meeting in a virtual Tennessee classroom. In these stay-at-home times, it’s the connection tool for UK coaches, too.
“(Matthew Mitchell) is having team meetings via Zoom regularly with the team and will have individual Zoom meetings with the players over the next few weeks,” Evan Crane, UK associate director of athletic communications and chief contact for women’s basketball said via e-mail Tuesday. “He’s also having staff meetings weekly through Zoom to get support staff/coaches together.”
“We have been using Zoom for our bi-weekly staff meetings, and now that it’s been cleared by the SEC, we will be using Zoom to hold our first full team meeting since the team broke from campus tomorrow afternoon,” said Chris Shoals, UK assistant director of athletics communications and chief softball contact. “Our plan is to continue to use Zoom moving forward, as it has been very useful since the pandemic hit.”
Said Stoops, “We want to stay on top of that.”
