PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Getting back to normal involves the “new normal” for the Temple football team.
Last year, the Owls couldn’t hold a spring practice session due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were unable to get a headstart on their season and had to deal with many of the other issues college football was forced to face last fall.
Although spring practice is underway for Temple this week, coach Rod Carey said they are still dealing with the same type of pandemic restrictions along with the outside world.
“We have restrictions in place,” he said, “but we can still use our facility. We just have to obviously, social distance, mask. We all know the drill. We’re all used to it now. It’s, unfortunately, become our normal on how to operate in this building.”
The Owls won’t be complaining any time soon about the restrictions. It was a difficult 2020 campaign for Temple both on and off the field. The Owls dealt with injuries, COVID-19 issues, and several game cancelations, and ultimately finished at 1-6 on the season.
Just getting back on the practice field this week is a huge emotional lift for Carey’s squad.
“We’re using these restrictions but we’re still operating, and then that’s way different than last year,” he added. “I mean, we’re here.”
The COVID-19 rules were stricter last year, and the Owls were never able to prepare for their season as they had in years past. It was frustrating for Carey and his players, but they are ready to move forward.
“The restrictions that Philadelphia placed on us certainly added to our injuries,” said Carey. “I say this all the time: You have to practice and train for football to play football. What we went through last year certainly added to that, but that’s old news. For us, we’ve moved way past that.”
Temple is scheduled to have its training camp in the summer. The Owls will open their season on Sept. 4 at Rutgers.
The start of the season is still five months away, but this week was an important first step for the players and coaches.