Fullerton College athletics have been granted the opportunity to return to very limited practice within the past couple of weeks.

Fullerton College water polo team is doing what they can to not only stay safe but prepare for their up coming season. The season is expected to start in spring semester, around Feb. 2021.

When I asked head coach Rhett Price about what is in store for this new look preseason he said that the team is now allowed to come on campus 2 days a week and that their first work out was last Thursday.

Fullerton College and the athletic department is huge on the safety of their staff and student-athletes during the pandemic.

Price said how they are practicing with the new COVID-19 rules, that when they have a practice, they are only allowed to swim laps in the pool. Student-athletes are also allowed to swim with a ball but the ball they swim with must be their own ball from home and the ball stays with them 24/7.

The trainers have played a huge role in keeping the student-athletes safe. The trainers have also coordinated with other trainers and colleges to create protocols to test the students as well as have them fill out questionnaires prior to coming to campus to make sure they haven’t been exposed to COVID-19.

“We are probably safer than any higher division, and safer than people who go to the supermarket.” Price said.

He also added another way they are trying to keep the staff and student-athletes safer is by splitting them into smaller subgroups.

They’ve done this in the case a player does test positive for COVID-19, it is easier to isolate and quarantine those players that were in direct contact with whoever was tested positive.

Since the team can only meet two times a week, they have been giving the student-athletes workouts to follow at home to help keep them in shape when they are not able to be in the pool.

Price also said this is the time he is big on conceptual meetings. The team does meetings over zoom or watch videos and the players must come back with questions based on the video or meeting.

Price hopes through the conceptual meetings the players will learn and understand the concept of what they plan on doing this upcoming season. He also hopes it will help the student-athletes understand how they pick, drive, pass, catch and shoot effectively.

Price said the team does not like these new social distance rules and practices because it’s a lot different. But he also included that he, “sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Even though we can’t achieve things that we did before.”

Price is excited to see how this new concept of coaching turns out and what the team will look like this upcoming season.