It's about more than football right now

It doesn't feel much like spring outside, but the Montana State University-Northern football team would still love to be on the practice field running through what would be their second week of spring drills.

However, that's not possible this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Northern head coach Andrew Rolin, his staff, and the current Lights' roster have been forced to adapt.

And adapt the Lights have, in many ways.

First and foremost, the Northern football team isn't just missing spring ball, the Lights players are missing the remainder of the spring semester on campus, and distance learning has been a huge adjustment for all colleges. So, Rolin said, helping his team navigate the remainder of the academic year has been priority number one this spring.

"Honestly, our biggest priority right now is helping our kids academically," Rolin said. "I think our students are at a big disadvantage by not being on campus, so we feel, as coaches, we need to be another resource for them, and get them all the guidance and help they need academically. Really, that's where so much of our focus is right now."

Technology, like Zoom and Face Time is helping the MSU-N coaches be another tool in the Lights' academic pursuits, and it's helping in many other ways, too.

For weeks now, the Northern coaches have been working from home, and while it is spring, and spring practices have canceled, there's still plenty for the coaching staff to do.

"We are still able to hold our staff meetings remotely," Rolin said. "We've all been working a lot from home, so we're taking advantage of technology, and it's going pretty well."

The Lights are also still holding their position group and film sessions with the players via all of the advanced technology there is out there today.

"We're able to have our groups have meetings with their coaches still, and they can watch film together and we're doing our installs that way, too, just like we would have done if we were still on campus together," Rolin said. "So that's going really well, and I think our players have done a great job of connecting with our staff, and vise versa."

Being off campus also means no training in the Northern weight room. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, like when players go home for the summer, but across America, all training facilities, from area gyms to high school weight rooms, and just about anywhere else Americans worked out before the pandemic, are all closed for the time being. So again, Rolin has had to get creative.

"We have given our players strength programs and conditioning programs they can do at home," Rolin said. "There are plenty of ways to stay strong and stay in shape during these times, so that's an area where the players have to be accountable for themselves. We have to trust that they're doing what we're asking them to do. We always talk about, if there's a will, there's a way, and I think that really applies to this current situation."

While Northern's roster is scattered, not only all over Montana, but across the country for that matter, there's another way Rolin and his staff are using technology to help the MSU-N players, and, during these trying times it's actually one of the head coach's biggest concerns.

"We very much need to stay on top of checking in with our players simply to check on their health and wellness," Rolin said. "We're all isolated right now, and everybody handles that differently. And these kids, they need people to be there for them, they need to still feel connected. So myself and my staff, we're staying in continuous contact with these kids, checking in with them, not just about football and school, but just make sure they're doing alright, and to let them know, we're here for all of them, and we are here to help them out in any way we can. I think that's really important all the time, but especially right now, with what we're all going through."

Indeed. We all are going through something we never thought we'd see, and it's certainly rocked the sports world to the core, with literally no sports around the world being played, and yet, Rolin is not only helping his Lights get through it, but he remains positive and upbeat about the present, and the future.

"I tell these kids all the time, they will play football again, they will put that uniform on again and be out there with their teammates," Rolin said. "Times are tough right now, and our focus needs to be on just taking care of ourselves and each other, on looking out for each other, and healing. Our focus needs to be on getting through these difficult times, and remaining healthy and safe.

"And I do believe we'll get through this," he continued. "And I look forward to the day when we can all be together again, as a team, and out on the field together. That day will come, and I can't wait for it."