Our New Normal, Volume II

Today’s installment paints a picture, hopefully, of the moments just before dismissal time in the area near the Jacobs Gym.

 

On this pleasant afternoon, Zack Trivette, site supervisor for RMC Events which provides security services for Collegiate, is placing lines of two-foot-tall, lime-green traffic cones along the loop road to direct the prodigious assortment of vehicles that will exit onto North Mooreland Road in a few minutes.

 

He explained that this year, the entrance to the area is blocked for about 45 minutes leaving two lanes to depart unencumbered by vehicles approaching in the opposite direction and gumming up the works.

 

“Given the circumstances and with the traffic volume, we decided to try something different,” said Zack, who’s in his ninth year at Collegiate. “So far, so good. For the most part, it’s been more efficient than in the past.”

 

So how did you figure this out? I inquired.

 

“We experimented based on the past,” he said.  “We were able to hit the ground running at the beginning of the year. Aside from a couple of hiccups in the first couple of days, it’s worked pretty well.”

 

The COVID-19 crisis has caused the school to make adjustments. I commented. Perhaps that’s a silver lining in this dark cloud that will make us better.

 

“We’ve been given some opportunities for ways of thinking that we might not have considered if we hadn’t been forced to adjust,” Zack said. “I’m hoping some of these things – like traffic adjustment things – will stick around even after the pandemic is over.”

 

Ellis Johnson, a transportation team member for the past two-and-a-half years, was sitting on a bench on the gym porch where a fleet of buses was queued up before him in the turning circle.

 

“Gorgeous day,” he offered with a smile on this high ‘70’s afternoon with a clear sky and gentle breeze wafting across the campus.

 

In a few minutes, he would ferry the tennis team to the Robins Campus, a very short hop considering some of the driving he’s done during his career.

 

“Drove a bus for 30 years,” he said.

 

What type of places did you go? I asked.

 

“Everywhere in the United States that a bus can go,” he said. “I’ve been to every single state.”

 

What was the most memorable place you went? I inquired.

“Boston,” he said after considering the question for all of a nanosecond.

 

Heard that, I said. I’ve visited Boston a couple of times but only as a passenger. Never drove, thankfully. Up there, they say that the most important auto part is the horn.

 

“A lot of horns honking,” he said. “Small streets. Aggressive people. Get out of their way.”

 

Ellis has been around and seen plenty, so I asked him how he was sizing up the challenges of the moment.

 

“The difference this year is more the anxiety than anything,” my friend responded. “It’s a mental thing. It’s very draining. You’re constantly having to remember to do something that you didn’t have to do before, like the mask.  It’s necessary, but sometimes you have to go somewhere for a minute just to take it off and breathe some fresh air.  I found myself last year being more physically tired when I got home. This year, I’m more mentally tired. You’re dealing with so many things.”

 

Ellis’s passengers were arriving, so I moved next to the athletic center where I found Shannon Winston, Collegiate’s head trainer since 1998, disinfecting a long, green treatment table.

What’s it like in the training room with no contact sports? I asked. You’d think there would be no injuries. Correct?

“We’re still dealing with injuries,” Shannon said. “We have kids who were injured prior to school starting. Kids are still getting injured during practices. Any time you have athletics, you’re going to have injuries.

 

“We aren’t seeing the more severe injuries that we’ve seen during a full-contact football season. And it’s much quieter when you only have three or four kids in here at a time as opposed to three people per table and all the whirlpools are running. Right now, we aren’t even using the whirlpools. We’re spacing out the kids and just working with three or four at a time. But it stays steady all day in here.

 

 

“That’s a fair statement,” she said. “It’s more of your overuse injuries, muscle pulls, ankle sprains. We’re trying to set appointments during the day so we can keep the right number of kids in here at a time.”

 

“We’re keeping up with continuing education,” she said. “Everything now is about planning for the next step. We’re helping with that. We have a new athletic trainer (Andy McPherson) who we’re trying to get certified as an instructor so he can help with CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) training.

 

“And the trainers and other faculty and staff have jobs related to COVID safety protocols. Every morning, I run Magnus (Health) reports for each division and the nurses to ensure everyone on campus has completed the Magnus app and states they are safe to be here. We’re also in communication with the nurses daily to discuss injuries, illnesses, and safe return to school and athletics.”

“For sure,” she said, echoing the universal sentiment.

  ~ Weldon Bradshaw