Scots ready for football season but with changes
About to enter his eighth year at the helm of the football program at The College of Wooster, Frank Colaprete, left, said a meeting of NCAC officials later this month will determine more specifics and the protocols that will need to be followed for the 2020 season.
With the coronavirus pandemic impacting football at every level, will The College of Wooster suit up for action on the gridiron this fall?
The answer is yes, barring unforeseen circumstances. Fighting Scots head coach Frank Colaprete confirmed this week that the 2020 schedule will be retooled to accommodate whatever the North Coast Athletic Conference proposes.
About to enter his eighth year at the COW helm, Colaprete said a meeting of NCAC officials later this month will determine more specifics and the protocols that will need to be followed.
“We need a schedule that is the most travelable for all the schools. I know we will have a new schedule. I just don’t know what it will look like right now,” Colaprete said, adding the NCAA, the governing body of intercollegiate athletics, has formulated guidelines across the Div. I, II and III platforms. Recommendations have had various effects on the different levels.
“It kinda did affect us, but it kinda didn’t,” Colaprete said. “A lot of it depends on what resources are available.”
One thing is for sure: There will be some new procedures for the Fighting Scots when they arrive on campus in mid-August. At the beginning of camp, Colaprete said the athletes will undergo a “resocialization” phase during which groups will be limited to 10. The second phase will allow for larger groups with the third phase evolving into full practice sessions.
“I’m good with that because these guys haven’t done anything since the beginning of March,” Colaprete said, adding that under normal circumstances, the players are not on campus during the summer anyway. The student-athletes routinely have reported to camp around Aug. 11 or 12.
“The NCAA actually has said players can come back earlier than that, but we probably won’t. The college could decide to do something different, but typically, it goes along with whatever the conference decides,” Colaprete said.
In the past the COW coaching staff has provided off-season training guidelines for the players when they are not on campus. But because many weight rooms and gyms have been closed since early spring, the regimen this summer is related mostly to workouts that can be done without a weight room.
Colaprete said recruiting for the upcoming season was pretty much wrapped up before the pandemic hit and that he has 30 new players coming in. He said out-of-state recruits who were scheduled to come to Wooster briefly during spring break were not able to make the trip to Wayne County this spring.
As for COVID-19 testing, Colaprete said the school as a whole is taking an aggressive approach. He said all students who come to campus this fall will be tested and then retested. The athletes will proceed under that safety net. Members of the athletics staff will be tested as well.
“The college is all about the safety of the students,” Colaprete said, adding he anticipates additional input/feedback from recently appointed director of athletics Amy Williams. Her official start date is July 15.