UCCS basketball teams navigate season through pandemic
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- If you want an idea how badly COVID-19 is screwing up the sports world, just look at UCCS. The men’s basketball team has had five positive cases, while the women’s team has had four. The men just had their game against Adams State postponed. The men have played one game in the last 30 days, and just four all season. They’re hoping to play CSU-Pueblo this weekend.
“I think the guys have done a pretty good job of being persistent, but it’s tough getting up for games, and then having them canceled the last minute can really send you on a roller coaster," says men's basketball coach Jeff Culver.
The women's team has had ten of its thirteen games postponed or cancelled.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time. This is a complete different scenario, and a completely different group of challenges than any of us have had in the past, and probably ever projected that we would have," says women's basketball coach Lynn Plett.
When they do play, home games are closed to students and fans. There haven't been many games, however, as the pandemic has reached UCCS' RMAC opponents as well. The situation forces coaches to change their schedules at a moment's notice. Even practice is an adventure.
“We’ll practice for maybe a couple of weeks, and then all of a sudden we have a positive case. Everything is shut down for either 14 days or 8 days," Plett says. "We’re kind of playing it by ear, from one week to the next, from one day to the next, and even one minute to the next.”
