University coaches pivoting recruiting during COVID-19

With the status of high school sports in the air, university coaches are also adjusting their recruiting practices.

As of now, the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association has set tentative start dates for outdoor sports like football, cross-country and soccer for Sept. 28. Volleyball has a tentative start date of Oct. 13.

University of Regina Rams interim head coach Mark McConkey said no sports in the spring made things a bit difficult for him and his assistant coaches.

He has had to adjust to not having a Regina Minor Football spring league to watch and not being able to bring athletes to the U of R campus for a visit.

“Before, it was a couple phone calls here and there and then we get to know them and their parents and then we bring them in for an official visit either in the summer or winter,” McConkey said.

But it has been a positive for the coaches, as they use technology a lot more when it comes to talking to recruits.

“I’ve got to know recruits on a more personal level, so that’s positive. The only negative is we can’t bring them into Regina on an official visit,” McConkey said.

He admits some kids won’t be given that final opportunity to show themselves to university football programs, with the 2022 class being affected more than the 2021 group.

“You always get those kids who come out of nowhere and light up Regina high school and you’re like, ‘Wow, we need to go after this kid. This is a guy we really need to look at.’ It’s super-unfortunate because you’re going to get some of those kids who are going to go by the wayside because they don’t have an opportunity to compete in their Grade 12 season,” McConkey said.

In a normal year, McConkey said the Rams would have handed out scholarships to kids in the spring heading into their Grade 12 year.

“That might not happen until November of their Grade 12 year now. It does make things a little bit more difficult for us planning-wise and even evaluating. These kids in Grade 12 who come out of nowhere, they really don’t get a chance,” McConkey said.

McConkey said the Rams are thinking about holding some sort of spring camp or tryout to ensure they don’t miss out on anyone.

The 2020 university fall sports season already has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

For McConkey, his first few months as interim head coach of the Rams have been unprecedented.

“I got my feet under me in that first month and I was building some momentum with everything and feeling more comfortable. We just had our first team meeting and then I think the next week COVID restrictions kicked in,” McConkey said.

“A few Canada West head coaches have called and they kind of laughed and said, ‘Just hang in there, it’s not always like this. It will get better,’ so they kind of feel for me.”

The U of R Cougars women’s soccer team is also adjusting to how it would normally recruit players.

Head coach Bob Maltman said coaches would normally be out at high school events or skill showcases to try and find the next crop of recruits.

“The recruiting phase hasn’t been as bad as it potentially could have been,” Maltman said. “(The recruits) are very effective at getting out their names, their resume, their player profile, YouTube clips and other forms of video and sending it to us.”

Maltman said athletes in the 2021 and 2022 classes are concerned about getting their opportunity to show their skills to recruiters.

Soccer and football training camps already would have started, with the Rams’ season underway and the soccer season just about to begin.

“I think everybody would want to see our student-athletes play and compete, none more so than the student-athletes themselves,” Maltman said.