Stonehill Football Calls an Audible

Stonehill Football Calls an Audible

By Joe Spadorcia

JRN100 Stonehill News Staff Writer

HOME—Spring practices have had an unconventional look this offseason for Stonehill College Football. Instead of being out on the field, rising sophomore Skyhawks kicker Kyle Gilman and the rest of the team are carrying out their responsibilities within their own homes.

“It’s definitely different. I miss the team, the coaches, the atmosphere. I’m the type of guy who feeds off the energy at practice. It’s hard to recreate that with just me and my dad,” Gilman said.

Skyhawks coach Eli Gardner, who has headed up the team since 2016, has been trying to maintain the best possible environment for his players.

“We first try to make sure everyone is mentally healthy,” Gardner said.  “Seeing each other’s faces is important,” he said.

The normal spring schedule cannot be held as the remaining semester has moved to online courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sports all over the world have been canceled from youth leagues to the March Madness NCAA Men’s basketball tournament to the MLB, NBA, and NHL. The outbreak has affected people all over the country. Massachusetts has the third most confirmed cases of any state in the country with 41,199 and 1,961 deaths.

A normal spring for squad would have consisted of a five-week schedule with 15 on-field practices, and 15 team lifts.

Gilman said the team was improving physically every day.

“We were making big gains in the weight room. We were all excited to get on the field for spring ball,” Gilman said.

For now, as the country is stuck at home, players are still expected to better themselves both physically and academically.

“We are still holding weekly academic check-ins with all the players as usual,” Gardner said.

This support has made it easier for Gilman to find the balance between maintaining the standards of a student as a full-time athlete.

“Everything happens so fast at school. At first, there were some adjustments, but as I settled in, it became a little bit more relaxing. I can sleep in a little more and work out at a time that’s convenient for me,” he said.

Physically the players are still expected to be in their best shape.

“We approach this situation as if it were summer. In division I you can hold mandatory workouts throughout the summer. But Stonehill being division II, it has to be voluntary. So, every player is given individualized responsibilities. We also have a constant dialogue with the players. Each player has position-specific skills and cardio to work on every week.” Gardner said.

Gilman said the athletes are holding themselves accountable as well. Bizarrely, this has sometimes meant playing a team sport by yourself.

“As a kicker, I try to get out to an empty field by myself two or three times a week. I work on fundamentals and make sure I make a few field goals. I keep track of my workouts by writing it all down in a journal. The journal tracks when I work out, what I did, and how long I did it,” Gilman said.

Teams are trying to stay in touch socially even with social distancing to maintain friendships and also to keep developing team chemistry, which is important in sports such as football. How well you can work together could make or break a team.

“I facetime with some guys every Friday or Saturday night and we just talk,” Gilman said. “We try to get on Zoom calls together, coaches and players together as well, and players with players.”

Gardner said staying connected is about more than sports.

 “We don’t always talk football,” Gardner said.  “We can talk about families and personal lives. At the end of the day, it's more than just football, it’s about the relationships we’ve made along the way.”