The College of Georgia is taking a methodical strategy relating to its athletes returning to campus subsequent month.
Solely soccer gamers shall be within the first wave again despite the fact that the SEC gave the go-ahead final week for all of its athletes to start voluntary exercises beginning on June 8.
“We’re centered on one sport and one facility,” athletic director Greg McGarity mentioned. “Our efforts are all centered on that as a result of all of us understand that now we have one likelihood to get it proper. If we don’t get it proper then each different sport is in danger. It’s crucial we get soccer proper.”
Males’s basketball and girls’s basketball have been initially included with soccer when the NCAA Division I Council final week accepted athletes returning to campuses beginning June 1 for the primary time because the novel coronavirus disaster shut down school sports activities. Then two days later all athletes got the OK by the NCAA and the SEC to additionally begin exercises.
Soccer, volleyball and cross nation — Georgia’s different fall sports activities — don’t have a set restart date but, McGarity mentioned Monday. He mentioned director of sports activities medication Ron Courson is overseeing when UGA groups could return.
“That’s to be decided,” McGarity mentioned. “Ron is working by that data presently. … We’ll know extra as we transfer down the highway right here.”
Soccer gamers — who may quantity round 100 — are scheduled to have physicals from June 3-5, in accordance with an individual aware of the plan. UGA mentioned Friday that COVID-19 testing and medical evaluations shall be carried out on all athletes and so they should be cleared medically earlier than they will begin exercises.
Some Georgia soccer workers members have already been again in Butts-Mehre workplaces and met in small teams. They’re limiting gatherings based mostly on college protocol and sustaining social distancing, McGarity mentioned.
Many of the soccer workers continues to be working remotely, he mentioned.
Some gamers may stay in on-campus housing whereas others stay off campus throughout voluntary exercises. McGarity wasn’t positive the place these on campus can be housed.
“We’re nonetheless engaged on these particulars,” mentioned.
McGarity mentioned how gamers go about what they do when not on the Butts-Mehre weight room or the apply fields shall be an vital issue.
“Voluntary exercises, that’s not a variety of time in your facility,” McGarity mentioned. “So there’s going to be a variety of free time. It’s going to be important that we educate not solely our workers however our student-athletes on greatest practices attributable to the truth that they’re not going to below our watchful eyes 24-7. On all campuses, if there’s not a degree of cooperation and understanding and buy-in, no matter we do internally inside our amenities will go for naught until everybody buys in after they’re away from our amenities.”
Video of individuals shut collectively at some Memorial Day actions nationally together with Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, Alabama seashores and Ocean Metropolis, Md., alarmed these involved about one other wave.
“It’s received to take a way of life change,” McGarity mentioned. “What we noticed this previous weekend in sure areas of the nation actually we couldn’t have that surroundings on our campus.”
