With Friday’s rivalry matchup for Hinesville bragging rights cancelled, the Bradwell Institute Tigers are going back to the drawing board.
On Wednesday, Aug 25., it was announced that due to COVID-19 trends, the Liberty County School System were going virtual for classes.
This also went for athletic being suspended for two weeks also, including the Bradwell-Liberty game that was slated to be on Aug. 27 at Donell Woods Stadium in Hinesville.
All athletic contests are cancelled through Sept. 10, causing the Tigers to also miss their game on Sept. 10 at West Laurens.
The Tigers are currently 0-1 for the season after losing to Westside-Macon in their season opener.
The Coastal Courier caught up with Tigers’ head coach Deshon Brock to get a statement from the first-year program play caller.
What kind of headspace is the team in after receiving the disappointing news on Wednesday night?
Brock: "We’re a little disappointed right now. The kids were looking forward to playing this game. It’s a big-time rivalry so the whole community was looking forward to it. Getting the news that we had to shut down, dampened the mood a little bit. But we’re going to start these Zoom meetings, team meetings and workouts virtually so we can stay on task mentally and get as much physical activity so we can be as crisp as possible when we come back on the 13th."
How does the cancellations and not physically being around each other affect the team?
Brock: "It’s a situation not being able to be around your kids for two weeks. But we’re going to make the best of it. We’re going to meet daily on Zoom and Google Meet to get some mental reps and review some game film to prepare for Appling County or whoever our next opponent is."
What are some things that you want your team to focus on during their time away?
Brock: "I definitely want them to focus on their grades first and foremost. If they have any outstanding assignments, now is the time to get those in. And I want them to dive into their playbooks to get a greater understanding of their assignments and what we want them to do. I also want them to stay active instead of sleeping in, sitting on the couch playing the game, or on social media all day. Go out and jog. If they have access to a gym, utilize that as much as possible."
What is the update regarding rescheduling games?
Brock: "Right now, we’re going to lose the Liberty and West Laurens games for sure. It’s all conference games after that and I highly doubt our bye week is the same as theirs. So, nine times out of 10, we’re not going to be able to make up those games. That’s going to hurt us because we need those reps and experience under our belts going into region play. We had a very good non-conference schedules and now it’s knocked out by COVID."
What are you looking for from your team when they come back from quarantine?
Brock: "We have a very talented Appling County that we’ll be facing when we get back. I look for my players to come back hungry. I pray that their parents feel comfortable with them coming back to continue the football season. I look forward to them coming back still in shape and going back to work."