Despite multiple conferences postponing their football seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic, the American Athletic Conference is still planning to have a fall football season, and as a result, the UH football team has been practicing for the past six weeks with many precautions in place.
Informing his players about the seriousness of the coronavirus and the necessary precautions put in place to ensure that the team could safely practice has been head coach Dana Holgorsen’s No. 1 priority.
“We had to educate our guys,” Holgorsen said in a Zoom session with media members. “Just reminding them that we live in a (COVID-19) world and that we have pillars that we need to put in place and abide by.”
While the team, and the world, still learns more about the virus, Holgorsen sees the city of Houston’s top-notch healthcare and medical staff, including all the doctors that work for UH athletics, as a major advantage in educating his team and keeping them up to date with the latest safety protocols.
“Having the healthcare that we have in this city is a huge bonus,” Holgorsen said.
One key safety measure that Holgorsen has been preaching to his team since returning to practice is wearing a mask wherever they go, with no exceptions.
“If you walk up and down the hall, go to the weight room, go to the practice field, go to the restroom, you’re going to put your mask on, and that’s what everyone in our building does,” said Holgorsen.
Along with wearing face coverings, the athletes do their best to avoid large crowds and remain distanced when in groups.
When talking about staying distanced, the team uses the term “physical distancing” instead of social distancing to emphasize the importance of keeping their distance from others while remaining connected as teammates to keep building chemistry and camaraderie.
Overall, Holgorsen is extremely pleased with the protocols the football program has put in place and the way the team has responded to them.
“Since we’ve restarted, we have zero issues, so I’m very pleased with protocols right now,” Holgorsen said. “I’m very pleased with how our players are handling the new world that we live in.”
For more of The Cougar’s coronavirus coverage, click here.