John Calipari you are between a rock and a difficult place with regard to your basketball team.
Afraid of the coronavirus, the Kentucky coach has taken extreme measures since the summer to keep his young players safe, mostly by isolating other students and the general public.
After six months of strategy, however, Calipari is now concerned about the mental well-being of the same young players, as Kentucky is experiencing a historically bad basketball season so far.
“The problem is that we are in a bubble here. But that’s why we’re safe, ”said Calipari on Tuesday. “But the flip side is that we are in a bubble.”
Calipari eased his own restrictions after the season began, allowing players to spend time in each other’s dorms. He then pushed further, taking his team to the public.
“I worry when we get on planes. I worry when we go to hotels. I worry even when we are walking in the arena of the other guys, ”said Calipari. “We rented a cinema. This is dangerous. We had some meals outside. And again, trying to be at a social distance, but you are eating meals, without a mask. It’s all dangerous. Have them come to my house. We did this three or four times. “
Over time, the players’ mental health took priority.
“Guess what? If one of our guys succeeds, we will end up having to close because we are doing things to bring them together,” said Calipari. “But I got to the point where I said, ‘Look, we have to do this. just playing basketball and not catching the virus, it became bigger than that. ‘It became how we do these other things, to be as safe as possible – you won’t be perfect – but it’s as safe as possible. ”
Emotional problems have increased this season. Freshman Cam’Ron Fletcher was sent home for a while after showing public dislike for 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 in his chair sobbing. Calipari comforted him for a while and returned to coaching.
“I’m trying to find out everything I can because I’m not happy,” said Calipari. “But, on the other hand, I cannot do this in the normal way that I would, that is, it would be a little more difficult. I would be a little taller. I would be a little more aggressive. Don’t worry how they are feeling. ‘Grow up. Put on your big boy pants. Well, you can’t do that. “
Calipari reported a typical day in practice.
“Someone would say, ‘Well, he’s just going limp,'” said the coach. “I’m different. I’m not smooth anymore. I’m still going straight to the point. I hit guys – I jump them pretty hard. I make it clear in front of their teammates – but then I have to grab them, hug them them and say, “Do you understand what I’m saying and why? I believe you. I know how good you are. Come here and give me a hug.” What? I mean, they are waters unknown to everyone. “
People all over the world are learning a lot about themselves during these difficult times. Calipari learned the frightening feeling of having to look after the teen’s mental well-being.
“The mental health part of that. The fragility of that. I feel unprepared. I am totally underqualified, ”he said. “I talked a lot with Bob Rotella. We brought the sport psychologist and he spent two or three days with the children. They all have their number. We have a psychologist on campus who these kids can meet and have. I had more coaches saying, ‘We are all sensitive to how we approach what we do this year more than any other year and children are a little more fragile across the country because of that.