A D1baseball article that contains some interesting stuff on the fall practice season and how it the practice schedule could be adjusted due to the pandemic.
At least for the time being, college programs can pay their volunteer assistants, while there's greater flexibility regarding fall workouts because of the ongoing pandemic.
d1baseball.com
>Fall Workouts Timeline Has Coronavirus Flexibility
Though the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down in several college baseball hot bed areas as fall workouts begin, it’s inevitable that the virus will take its toll on at least some programs from a practice standpoint, especially as another wave could arrive in conjunction with flu season. We’ve already heard of a few programs who have had key players out of workouts because of the virus, and more frequently, contact tracing.
Programs will have ways to deal with pauses in workouts.
The way fall workouts work is that you have 28 practices to complete in a 45-day window. But what if you have 10 practices and half of your team gets COVID-19 or is exposed, and, thus, you have to shut down workouts for a couple of weeks?
In the past, programs would lose those days as part of the 45-day window. However, that isn’t the case this fall.
Let’s say a program typically does the 20 hours a week that are allowed during a non-championship semester, pauses, and shifts to eight hours of activity a week — four hours a week of skill instruction and four of strength and conditioning, because of some contact tracing/virus issues. If the program, for example, had 10 practices in 14 days, they could then restart workouts at an undisclosed later date and have 18 practices left in 31 days.
With that in mind and because of this NCAA clarification, some programs around the country have decided to move up their fall workouts. The idea behind this move is that if you start team workouts right now, have to stop for two weeks because of virus issues, you can still make up the time at a later date without going into mid-to-late November and interfering with final examinations or the departure of students. Remember, many institutions are only having in-person classes until Thanksgiving break and are not allowing students back until January. So, programs must be done with fall workouts before the fall examination period begins. Starting fall workouts right now gives coaches and players the optimal ability to have all of their practices.
Again, while some programs and leagues have been cognizant of this reality for a few weeks, others have been left in the dark and are confused as to how they didn’t know this was a possibility.
Just another day of normal business in the midst of a pandemic.<
