By: Nolan Alexander
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We can now define how long an eternity is.
It's eight months and 14 days.
Roughly 22,377,600 seconds.
372,960 minutes.
6,216 hours.
37 weeks.
70.77% of 2020.
259 days.
On March 11, 2020, uncertainty saturated the air as Kennesaw State saw its tennis programs compete at Jacksonville State, women's golf wrap its final round at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Honolulu, lacrosse host Vermont, and baseball finish a 24-inning series against Quinnipiac.
I didn't think the next KSU home game would be 259 days later … but here we are.
We're as ready as we've ever been thanks to a team effort.
"Things have started to change with the help of Mike Young, our athletic trainer, and the discipline of our guys without any stoppage, knock on wood," said Abdur-Rahim. "We are testing three times a week now."
Abdur-Rahim has a retooled roster that's primed to deliver highlights and build upon the culture established during the long off-season.
"We have a good feel for where we are and where we need to continue to improve," he said.
As referenced, to get the program humming along truly puts the emphasis on "support" in the term "support staff."
Take Director of Sports Medicine Mike Young. He and his staff have worked tirelessly over the year to ensure the Owls can practice and play at their safest and best.
"Too many hours to count, since mid-to-late April. COVID-19 policy and procedure has dominated my time. My staff and I have worked more than ever before, and we always worked a lot. Most days start with surveillance testing of student-athletes and staff at 5:30 a.m.," said Young. "Every day is different, over the past several weeks, as a department we have done well with our surveillance testing and having a very low number of active cases. Our student athletes are doing a good job of mitigating risk with their behavior."
That's the health side. There's an operational aspect to pulling this season off as well.
Event coordinator Taylor Rogers and the operational staff have been long at work modifying their planning, procedures, and gameday protocols.
"The entire floor setup is different this year. Benches are on the opposite side of where they normally would be located, distancing the players and coaches from gameday staff. Gameday staff will have to socially distance at the scorer's table. Also, the addition of the tiered system now requires certain staff to get tested weekly to be able to work the game, challenging us to find staff to agree to the terms," Rogers said. "We have had to create a totally new seating chart so fans can be socially distanced while attending the game. Most importantly, we are making sure our fans, athletes, and employees feel safe and comfortable in our facility by requiring masks, providing hand sanitizer, and properly disinfecting high-touched areas."
It'll be a different, yet an exciting environment for fans Wednesday. Director of Marketing Kelsey Tolbert and her team have brainstormed and planned the most exciting ways to keep fans engaged in a safe and entertaining manner.
"Due to precautions to keep the court and the teams as safe as possible, in-game entertainment will be primarily focused on the videoboard. Fans can expect a lot of their favorites from last season, Emoji Puzzles, Name that Tune, and Team Trivia with a few new twists thrown in to keep everyone engaged," said Tolbert. "Additionally, Cheer and Scrappy will also be in the stands this season."
What else should fans and students look forward to in-game this season?
"This season our fans and students can look forward to becoming an active part of the game day atmosphere. From t-shirt giveaways every game for students to light show glow sticks for pre-game, our fans will be able to participate in ways they haven't in the past," she said. "Additionally, we will be utilizing the Owl Rewards app to help fans engage with games, photo submissions, and trivia during time-outs and halftime."
For those not in attendance, Wednesday's game and each home game will stream on ESPN+. Director of the Owl Network Will Adams has adjusted, too, in efforts to make sure viewers worldwide can watch the Owls with ease.
"As a producer, I hope to give the audience the feeling of being at the game as much as possible. I believe we have some of the best broadcasters around and we hope to give viewers an inside look into Kennesaw State athletics, the university and the programs we are playing," said Adams.
It's been a monumental effort to arrive at this point – playing a game, and one that the current set of student-athletes won't take for granted.
"I'm very excited, it's been a long year, especially with all the changes we had," said men's basketball sophomore Armani Harris. "The guys and I are locked in, ready for a new season."
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