The RoundHouse | 4/6/2020 2:27:00 PM
Wichita State senior
Madison Perrigan lives on five acres of wooded farmland near Guthrie, Okla. In these times, she lives on five acres that can also be an indoor/outdoor gymnasium.
Perrigan, a catcher on the softball team, plays catch with her sister outside. She hits into inside her father's metal shop building when it rains. She runs outside for cardio work to keep pace with pitcher
Erin McDonald.
"I have a lot of tools," Perrigan said. "A bucket of balls. All my softball equipment. My sister sits the ball on a tee for me. My dad is making a net right so she can throw soft-toss to me."
Perrigan, like most Wichita State coaches and student-athletes, is challenged by the circumstances to find new ways of staying active and passing time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are limited to their backyards or basement weight benches. Others use a nearby park or track.
"It's just crazy times," said baseball pitching coach
Mike Pelfrey. "Which calls for you to get creative. Find a park. Find a place to play catch. Just do your best."
Since college athletics shut down in mid-March, that is the goal for all. Stay active. Study. Stay engaged with teammates and coaches. Stay safe.
"We told everybody to stay in touch, get away, stay with your fam and try to enjoy that," volleyball coach
Chris Lamb said.
Perrigan set a routine – 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by conditioning works from associate head strength and conditioning coach
Hannah Wilkinson and softball drills. After workouts, she eats and does school work, often on video meetings. She is writing in a journal and reading "Living 'So That': Making Faith-Filled Choices in the midst of a Messy Life," and "Stress Point" Thriving Through Your Twenties in a Decade of Drama."
"I think they're really good books right now to keep my mind focused on the big goal at the end, that everything is going to get back to normal," she said. "I've been trying to fill my time with stuff that I always thought 'Oh, I wish I had time to do that." Now, I have all the time in the world."
No matter the sport, COVID-19 took away the companionship, structure and guidance of an athletic team – with all its practices, locker-room bonding, bus rides and study halls – and forced coaches and student-athletes into isolation.
"The worst thing is not being with my team every day," said track and field freshman
Sadie Boos. "I miss my teammates, hanging out with them."
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted and then quickly ended spring sports (and men's basketball). Wichita State baseball planned on taking 12-game win streak into a home series vs. Nebraska beginning March 13. The softball team looked forward to its first home game on March 20. Track and field finished its indoor season and prepared for outdoor meets. Golf and tennis were well into their spring schedules. Volleyball played one spring tournament with three more scheduled.
"We pretty much have settled into what you would have to call an off-season," director of track and field
Steve Rainbolt said. "But even that is odd, because we're not together with our team. We're doing the best we can within this context and it's difficult."
Before the "Stay at Home" order, the men's basketball staff met at coach
Gregg Marshall's house. When that changed, the coaches use text messages, video conferences and email to check on student-athletes and work on recruiting and scheduling. There is also time for analyzing video and scouting reports.
Lamb is taking the time to freshen up some of his homemade practice equipment.
"We've got stuff here that I always want to clean and paint – boxes and carts," Lamb said. "We can go through all the old inventory."
Spring coaches are also recruiting with the knowledge that the NCAA granted student-athletes an additional season of competition. Women's golf coach
Tom McCurdy, for example, is operating under the belief senior Michelle Lederman will return in 2020-21. That changes his roster construction for 2021-22 and puts him back in the recruiting world this summer – a summer that will likely not include all the regular tournaments.
"We had not anticipated having money in that class," McCurdy said. "Now that we've got all this, we're trying to jump back into recruiting. You start with the same thing - you introduce them to Wichita State – all the links, stats, things within the rules that we get to send."
Perrigan is one of those seniors who plans on returning for the 2021 season. She hit seven home runs in Wichita State's abbreviated 202027-game season and needs three more to top the school's career list.
"I'm so happy they made that decision," she said. "I was nervous."
Group text messages, video meetings and phone calls replace team meetings in the locker rooms and team rooms around the athletic facilities. Coaches and strength and conditioning coaches are allowed to check in with their student-athletes and offer workout programs. They can't require them or ask for progress reports.
"We communicate close to every day, just because we are all so close," softball pitcher
Caitlin Bingham said. "That's really hard, especially when you go from working 24-7 to 'Ok, stop.'"
With gyms and tracks closed in most parts of the country, Shockers are finding creative ways to work out. Body-weight exercises are important. Wichita State's strength coaches are advising to devote more time to stretching and flexibility since access to weights may be limited. Backpacks weighted with books is a popular substitute for strength and cardio training.
Track and field's junior
Michael Bryan substitutes logs – he estimates they weigh between 30 and 12- pounds - usually used for a wood stove for barbells and plates. Boos, who lives near a wooded area, runs those paths with her younger brother. They filled shopping bags with rocks for weight training.
"As a thrower, I need a lot of resistance training," Bryan said. "I went to my backyard and I realized I had a lot of logs in my backyard. You can do a lot of things with those."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
