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Vic Schaefer: "We're going to find a way around these obstacles."

POSTED: November 5, 2020 -- 10:34 a.m. CT

The COVID-19 pandemic has had (and continues to have) an impact on all of us locally and globally. In the basketball universe that I spend a considerable portion of my days, COVID-19 has disrupted conference and nonconference schedules, staffing, practices, travel, etc.

Vic Schaefer, Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball Head Coach, sees COVID-19 as a challenge and an obstacle to overcome. Coach Schaefer says the protocols surrounding the pandemic has eliminated something he enjoys doing: cooking for his players and spending time with them away from the basketball court.

"What's really difficult -- my staff and I we're people people," Coach Schaefer said during a media availability session. "We're all about people. We're all about relationships. What's really hard is I can't even have my team over to eat dinner.

"I like to cook," Schaefer remarked. "Barbecue is my big deal. My team's going, 'Hey, Coach, we've heard you can grill. When are we coming to eat?!'

"And, I'm like, 'I can't get an approval.' You can't have that many people together in one area.

"That's how you develop chemistry: being able to sit down and have a meal together and talk about something other than basketball."


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The pandemic protocols lessens the amount of time coaches can spend with their team outside of practice.

"It's just such a challenge to only see them during the day when they come here for practice," Schaefer acknowledged. "That's been hard for us. Because (Associate Head Coach) Johnnie (Johnnie Harris) cooks. She'll have them over on Sunday after church; and, she'll cook for them. That mac and cheese with shrimp -- y'all will all want to get in line for that.

"But, it's just so difficult when you're not able to do these things that we do with our players off the floor to allow them a chance to see us in a different setting. And, allow us to see them in a different setting. So, it's a real challenge; and, it's very, very difficult right now for us."

Schaefer said he and his coaching staff are figuring out ways to visit with the players after practice.

"We've worked really hard at trying to find other ways to do that -- spending time after practice just sitting down and visiting. Just trying to do anything we can to get to know them personally because, again, we're demanding; and, we don't apologize for that. But, at the end of the day, we love these kids. We treat them like they're our own. A lot of the decisions we make for our team have parental instincts because me, Dionnah (Assoc. Head Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett), Johnnie we're all parents. Those things come into play when we deal with our student-athletes.

"It's a challenge. There's no way around it. But, as I've said all along, you're either looking at obstacles or limitations. I choose to look at this as obstacles; and, there's a way around an obstacle. And, that's the way that we have looked at everything we've dealt with is that we're going to find a way around these obstacles."

The Longhorns are scheduled to tip-off the 2020-21 season November 25 at home versus SMU. Tip-off time to be determined.

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