Humanizing during Inhuman Times

Four months into a worldwide pandemic and much of the world is still reeling. The Coronavirus continues to pose daunting challenges that people must face every day. From those who discard Corona as simply a “hoax” or just the “flu” to those who fully embrace its scientific foundation and insidious presence, it is irrefutable that we all have been greatly impacted by its arrival.

The virus has completely changed how we function, forcing us into behaviors that five months ago would have seemed absolutely preposterous. Have to wear a mask whenever you leave the house? Social distancing? Shelter in place? You can’t shake a friend's hand or hug a loved one? etc... 20 weeks ago that would have been considered ridiculous behavior. Now, it is our new and necessary normal. We have been forced to change our customary human habits in order to defeat this virus and remain safe.

We do this inspired by the hope to “get back to normal” as fast as possible. However, our old human habits and behaviors might never be the old normal ever again. As Lincoln High School Boys Basketball Head Coach, Carl Jacobs often says during his team’s MAD training sessions, “there is no going back to normal. We have to change. We need to build a ‘new normal.’”

Currently, that “new normal” has proved it absolutely a must that we limit our human interactions. In all facets of daily life that poses huge obstacles, forcing us all to behave in strange ways that seem to distance us from feeling human.

In Athletic Development, it most definitely changes the playing field. With its very core being human enhancement, how do you enhance people’s humanness when you can't even be in the same room as them? How do you coach athletes in the new world of Zoom? How do athletes get better at home, without the proper equipment or the motivating camaraderie of teammates?

You dig deep and find a way! Is Zoom training as good as the real thing? Not even close. Is it weird trying to train via a screen? Very. Tough to build a vibrant, upbeat training culture over the internet? An emphatic YES. But as I sit here writing this article, with Coronavirus numbers spiking all over the country, we are once again reminded that we are in for a long fight against a formidable opponent.

At MAD, having transitioned all of our operations onto Zoom we have had to face the same challenges as everyone else in our industry. For the sake of us all, safety must prevail. In a tribute to its resiliency, the MAD community, coaches and athletes alike, have rallied together to embrace the challenge of “distant training”. The collective mind set that “we are all in this together” has become our unifying mantra. And that mantra has brought us together, as people.

Our current normal will eventually evolve into a new normal. It will definitely be different but we will definitely be ready, together, as people.