Central Michigan University Athletics
Coping & Connecting: Women's Basketball
5/27/2020 9:49:00 AM | General, Women's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Maddy Watters said she felt a little lost. She certainly had company.
Watters, a senior-to-be on the Central Michigan women's basketball team, took some time to get accustomed to the quarantine necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. She wasn't alone in that department, either.
She went home to Rockford, Mich., in mid-March, days after the Chippewas lost in the first-round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. At the time, Watters and her teammates were in the dark about whether they would be headed to the NCAA Tournament, scheduled to begin the following weekend.
That turned out to be a moot point when, just days later, college sports – along with most of the nation – went into an unprecedented shutdown.
"At first I kind of fell out of a normal routine and I could tell that I wasn't myself," Watters said, echoing a sentiment held by perhaps millions across the country. "I just wrote down what I needed to do every day and a time of when I was going to do it and I think that helped a lot. Making sure you wake up at a set time and try to have life as normal as it can be."
No, it isn't the same – far from it – as it might otherwise be, but it's helped, Watters said, to establish a routine over the past two months as she and her teammates adjust. She shared her idea during one of the team's frequent video conference meetings over that span.
CMU coach Heather Oesterle said that her team underwent "a lot of emotions in the two weeks that we finished the season." That started with claiming their fourth-consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season title followed days later by a loss in a league-tournament quarterfinal game in Cleveland. And then the news that the season was finished.
"I just wanted to make sure that mentally they were good," Oesterle said of her players, "that they were somewhere that they were safe and at that point, academics were huge to make sure that they had resources to finish the school year. I think for the most part our team handled it pretty well."
Two months into quarantine, the Chippewas are hungry to return to campus, to return to some semblance of normalcy, and look ahead to the 2020-21 season.
"I know they're so ready to get back here," Oesterle said.
Oesterle said that the Chippewas have, over the past two months, undergone leadership training, just as they did three years ago. It was all done via video conference.
The training, which the program has utilized in the past and features a military bent, focused "on ways to stay in touch with each other," senior-to-be Kyra Bussell said. "And you come to the realization that teams that come out of this stronger are going to be the teams that effectively communicated during the whole situation and were able to continue to be motivated and were able to make strides."
Both Bussell, a Grand Rapids native who has remained in Mount Pleasant, and Watters said they have focused on strength and conditioning plans provided by Holly Stark, a CMU assistant director of strength and conditioning, who works with the women's basketball program.
The players have paired up with an accountability buddy to ensure that they aren't alone in completing workouts and are doing anything and everything to stay sharp.
"Holding each other accountable physically has been a focus for the past couple of weeks," Bussell said. "It's been really hard not being surrounded by your teammates and having to push yourself. Normally you're surrounded by teammates who are doing the same thing as you are, cheering you on, boosting morale."
Maintaining their basketball skill level has required a level of resourcefulness.
"It's been an adjustment for sure," Bussell said, adding that she has been performing ballhandling drills in her apartment. "I'm sure my roommates aren't super happy about it. Just doing the little things that I can to keep myself in basketball shape as much as I can. Making sure I remember how to shoot, how to dribble, when we're finally able to come back and be together as a team again."
Watters said she has been shooting at a hoop in the driveway of her family home. Not ideal, of course, but certainly better than nothing.
"It's different playing outside than it is playing in McGuirk, but I'm just trying to keep a ball in my hands, stay familiar with it," she said. "Just trying to make it work with what we have."
As veterans of the ultra-successful program, both Watters and Bussell embrace their roles as leaders of the team. Watters said the weekly video conference meetings are key, as are near-daily texts between teammates.
"As athletes you kind of have a routine," she said. "I think the (lack of) routine and the disconnect are probably the hardest parts. It's going to make us stronger in the end and (we can't) lose sight of the goal at the end of the tunnel."
Watters, a senior-to-be on the Central Michigan women's basketball team, took some time to get accustomed to the quarantine necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. She wasn't alone in that department, either.
She went home to Rockford, Mich., in mid-March, days after the Chippewas lost in the first-round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. At the time, Watters and her teammates were in the dark about whether they would be headed to the NCAA Tournament, scheduled to begin the following weekend.
That turned out to be a moot point when, just days later, college sports – along with most of the nation – went into an unprecedented shutdown.
"At first I kind of fell out of a normal routine and I could tell that I wasn't myself," Watters said, echoing a sentiment held by perhaps millions across the country. "I just wrote down what I needed to do every day and a time of when I was going to do it and I think that helped a lot. Making sure you wake up at a set time and try to have life as normal as it can be."
No, it isn't the same – far from it – as it might otherwise be, but it's helped, Watters said, to establish a routine over the past two months as she and her teammates adjust. She shared her idea during one of the team's frequent video conference meetings over that span.
CMU coach Heather Oesterle said that her team underwent "a lot of emotions in the two weeks that we finished the season." That started with claiming their fourth-consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season title followed days later by a loss in a league-tournament quarterfinal game in Cleveland. And then the news that the season was finished.
"I just wanted to make sure that mentally they were good," Oesterle said of her players, "that they were somewhere that they were safe and at that point, academics were huge to make sure that they had resources to finish the school year. I think for the most part our team handled it pretty well."
Two months into quarantine, the Chippewas are hungry to return to campus, to return to some semblance of normalcy, and look ahead to the 2020-21 season.
"I know they're so ready to get back here," Oesterle said.
Oesterle said that the Chippewas have, over the past two months, undergone leadership training, just as they did three years ago. It was all done via video conference.
The training, which the program has utilized in the past and features a military bent, focused "on ways to stay in touch with each other," senior-to-be Kyra Bussell said. "And you come to the realization that teams that come out of this stronger are going to be the teams that effectively communicated during the whole situation and were able to continue to be motivated and were able to make strides."
Both Bussell, a Grand Rapids native who has remained in Mount Pleasant, and Watters said they have focused on strength and conditioning plans provided by Holly Stark, a CMU assistant director of strength and conditioning, who works with the women's basketball program.
The players have paired up with an accountability buddy to ensure that they aren't alone in completing workouts and are doing anything and everything to stay sharp.
"Holding each other accountable physically has been a focus for the past couple of weeks," Bussell said. "It's been really hard not being surrounded by your teammates and having to push yourself. Normally you're surrounded by teammates who are doing the same thing as you are, cheering you on, boosting morale."
Maintaining their basketball skill level has required a level of resourcefulness.
"It's been an adjustment for sure," Bussell said, adding that she has been performing ballhandling drills in her apartment. "I'm sure my roommates aren't super happy about it. Just doing the little things that I can to keep myself in basketball shape as much as I can. Making sure I remember how to shoot, how to dribble, when we're finally able to come back and be together as a team again."
Watters said she has been shooting at a hoop in the driveway of her family home. Not ideal, of course, but certainly better than nothing.
"It's different playing outside than it is playing in McGuirk, but I'm just trying to keep a ball in my hands, stay familiar with it," she said. "Just trying to make it work with what we have."
As veterans of the ultra-successful program, both Watters and Bussell embrace their roles as leaders of the team. Watters said the weekly video conference meetings are key, as are near-daily texts between teammates.
"As athletes you kind of have a routine," she said. "I think the (lack of) routine and the disconnect are probably the hardest parts. It's going to make us stronger in the end and (we can't) lose sight of the goal at the end of the tunnel."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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