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John calipari finds himself between a rock and a hard place for his basketball team.
Fearing the coronavirus, the Kentucky coach has taken extreme measures since the summer to keep his young players safe, mainly through isolation from other students and the general public.
Six months into the strategy’s start, however, Calipari is now concerned with the mental well-being of those same young players as Kentucky is going through a historically bad basketball season at this point.
“The problem is, we’re in a bubble here. But that’s why we’re safe, ”Calipari said Tuesday. “But on the other side, we’re in a bubble.”
Calipari relaxed their own restrictions after the start of the season, allowing players to spend time in each other’s dorms. He then pushed it further by taking his team out of the public.
“I worry when we get on planes. I worry when we go to hotels. I worry even when we walk into the arena of other guys, ”Calipari said. “We rented a movie theater. It’s dangerous. We had a few meals. And again, try to be socially distanced, but you eat meals, no mask. Everything is dangerous. Bring them to my house. We did it three or four times.
Over time, the mental health of the players had to be a priority.
“Guess what? If one of our guys gets it, we’ll end up having to shut down because we’re doing things to bring them together,” Calipari said. “But it got to a point where I said, ‘Listen, we have to do this. It’s not just about playing basketball and not getting this virus; it’s got bigger than that. It’s become how to do these other things, to be as sure as possible – you aren’t going to be perfect – but it’s as safe as you can be.
Emotional issues have increased this season. Freshman Cam’Ron Fletcher was sent home for a while after showing public discontent with his playing time against Kansas on December 1. A month later, on January 5 against Vanderbilt, freshman Isaiah Jackson was so visibly upset by his own performance that he sat down in his chair sobbing. Calipari consoled him for a while and returned to training.
“I’m trying to figure out all I can because I’m not happy,” Calipari said. “But on the other hand, I can’t do this the normal way, which means I would be a little more difficult. I would be a little louder. I would be a little more aggressive. I wouldn’t care how they feel. ‘Grow. Put on your big boy pants. Now, you can’t do that.
Calipari recounted a typical day of practice.
“Someone would say, ‘Well he’s just getting limp,’” said the coach. “I’m different. I’m not softer. I’m still on point. I hit the guys – I jump them pretty hard. I make it clear in front of his teammates – but then I have to go grab them and squeeze them in. my arms and say to them, ‘Do you understand what I’m saying and why? I believe in you. I know how good you are. Come here and give me a hug. What? I mean, these are waters unexplored for everyone.
People around the world are learning a lot about themselves in these difficult times. Calipari learned of the intimidating feeling of having to look after the mental well-being of adolescents.
“The mental health side of it all. The fragility of that. I don’t feel prepared. I am totally underqualified, ”he said. “I’ve talked to Bob Rotella a lot. We brought in the sports psychologist and he spent two or three days with the children. They all have his number. We have a psychologist on campus that these kids can meet and have. I have had more coaches who have said, “We are all sensitive to how we approach what we are doing this year more than any other year and the kids are a little more fragile across the country because of it. .
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