Blue and gold given permission to take the field in regular practice schedule
Javelina football has been given the green light to resume football practice and conditioning after being delayed for two consecutive weeks.
Head Coach Michael Salinas and the Javelina football team are ready to get back to work.
Two weeks ago, a practice on a Thursday was cancelled abruptly due to a spike in COVID-19 cases across the campus. This resulted in Salinas sending his players home just as practice was about to begin.
Since then, it’s been a process to get back on the field as COVID-19 cases amongst players and the student body as a whole has brought cause for concern to university leaders.
Austin Perez, newcomer for the Javelinas, said they will take the weeks as they come.
“We clearly want to begin practice as normal but we cannot place blame on one certain person for this outbreak,” Perez said. “As a team we must prepare for the weeks that lie ahead. Always one step ahead of our competitors.”
As of the end of last week, athletes had no update on what’s to come, a third week of no practice means no play is imminent for Javelinas.
Salinas has expressed to his players the importance of staying ready because they will never know when the green light will be given and that day could be any day of the week.
Along with this though, he heavily expresses the importance of safety towards his team and staff and the safety measures that need to be taken to make sure everyone remains in good health and so that they Javelinas can make it back to the field before the Thanksgiving break, which is in two weeks.
Alec Gonzalez, linebacker for the Javelinas, said he is unsure what will come of this season.
“One week you think everything is running smoothly, only to find yourself and teammates being told we are not allowed to resume practice,” Gonzalez said.
“I think as a team we can only do so much. It is important for our entire staff and other programs to practice guidelines as well.”
The loss of two weeks of practice has been cause for concern leaving only two more weeks to get anything worked out.
“We have no control over the events that will take place in our life, and we won’t directly control the outcome at times. But we always have control over how we choose to respond to adversity. How we respond to this setback is what is important as we move forward as a TEAM,” Salinas said.
The Javelinas have a four-game schedule this year coming back after this Christmas break.
The games will be streamed and available to view on social media platforms.
