John Calipari discusses how team will approach summer workouts amid pandemic

With the SEC allowing college athletic programs to return to campus for offseason workouts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari discussed how his team might approach their return to campus.

“They just cleared us to come back on June 8,” Calipari said on his latest episode of Coffee with Cal. “But the protocol would be the medical stuff for three days before we do anything, conditioning without any of us coaches for two weeks. I still have to meet with the parents.”

Calipari noted the Joe Craft Practice Facility and the players’ dorm, the Wildcat Coal Lodge being in such close proximity could provide a bubble for the players to remain somewhat isolated.

“Practice facility, our lodge, where just our kids live, each be in their own room, we’d be in a pretty good bubble,” Calipari stated. “We have a great hospital there if anything were to happen, probably better for them than having to go to an emergency room.

“We’ve got a nationally-renowned hospital that is one of the best in the world right there. But I still have to talk to the parents and let them know. We’re going to test when they come back. We’re going to know where things are.”

As of now, Calipari is getting his team ready for the 2020-21 team via Zoom.

“We’re doing Zoom calls,” he said. “We’re going to start doing video. We are going to do more tape work than I’ve ever done. I’m more into the mental toughness, the physical readiness, the conditioning, the weight strength, the diet to get that base set vs. here’s how we play. I can get to that, but we’re going to be forced to do it earlier. It may be better.”

While nothing is concrete, it sounds as if Calipari is planning for his squad to be back on campus in the near future.