Unforeseen challenges forced Fraser Valley Bandits to adapt and grow as a group during preseason preparations
By Contributing Bandits Writer: Emily Wilson • July 27, 2020
In every sport, preparing for an upcoming season is a difficult and tedious task.
Back in the spring, the Fraser Valley Bandits were preparing to take the usual steps ahead of their second season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
Add in a global pandemic, however, and the task becomes a lot harder.
“There's been tremendous difficulty with the COVID situation,” said head coach Kyle Julius, who continued on to highlight the most challenging part was configuring a revamped roster.
“First of all, it's really hard to build the team in the summer because most elite players don't want to play in the summer…to get them to commit their entire summer, especially if they're married, especially if they have kids, is really challenging.”
The second was reviewing which athletes were available and when. Most professional leagues run until mid-summer leaving some players only available for half the CEBL season. With COVID-19 cutting seasons short across the globe, many athletes found themselves with open schedules leaving a surplus of options for Julius’ staff.
“Come mid-April when everybody realized that, you know, at best the CEBL would be some type of format later in the summer, more and more players became interested because they had not played now for a couple months,” Julius said.
“I think you see that around the league, where a lot of teams signed guys that would not normally play in the summertime - which is great for those teams and great for the league.”
Out of all the teams in the league, the Bandits have changed their roster the most, only bringing back point-guard Marek Klassen.
While the other six rosters have some experience playing together in the league, the one positive the Bandits do have is a handful of players who previously played under Julius. Having players who understand his coaching philosophy will hopefully make the demanding Summer Series schedule easier.
“You don't have a long training camp. And once you kind of realize the actual chronology of a schedule that exists or doesn't exist in this setting, it became really important to me to sign guys that I know, that I've had success with,” Julius said. “That's a huge piece of my criteria.”
“This team is a unique case in that these guys have experienced playing for coach Julius in the past,” added K.J. Smith, who is an advance scout for the Bandits this season. “But at the same time, it is still a new team because this group of guys have not been together as this particular unit.”
Without playing on the court and quarantining across the country, the Bandits staff had to find ways to begin adapting their preseason preparations. Not being in person was a major setback, so the team found a way to innovate. Frequently checking in through video, text, and phone calls was the next best solution before arriving for training camp in St. Catharines, Ont.
According to Smith, video sessions were a major part of the preparations as it helped the team stay connected and also allowed for coaches to keep tabs on players and assess their fitness levels
“At the end of the day, there is no substitute for being in the gym and putting in the time with a group of players and coaches and really building that chemistry on and off the floor,” Smith said. “The adaptation comes with a lot of video (and) studying the history of guys.”
Assistant coach David Singleton added that virtual communication was key to try and build a team environment and to “reassure them that everything's going to be okay” during such unprecedented times.
“I talked to every single player at least three or four times before we got out here,” Singleton said. “Videos, zoom calls with them on other teams in the league, players [and] coaching styles in the league so we could be well prepared and prepped for the season ahead.”
“When I got here [St. Catharines], it was a good just transition into me getting to know these guys because they know my voice. They knew who I was over the zoom call on the phone - it's kind of like we already know each other.”
Following new COVID-19 protocols has also been an adjustment. After arriving at their hotel, CEBL players and staff were tested for the virus.
“I've never had to control guys and kind of diffuse the stress and things like that around a virus. I sign guys that I've known for a long time. I know their wives, I know their babies, I know their moms, you know, things like that,” Julius said.
With the Bandits’ next game against the Saskatchewan Rattlers fast approaching, the team is continuing to work together to handle the pressure of preparing as best as possible.
“The important thing is to first come in with a clear vision in mind, but understanding that there are going to be things that have to change sort of along the way as you adapt,” Smith said
“The teams that do the best in this are going to be the ones that can successfully handle that mental pressure that they sort of put on themselves and the existing conditions.”
“It hasn't been an easy process,” Singleton added. (But) it’s something that I think we'll hold for the rest of our lives and say that we were able to put this together in (these) crazy times that we're in.”
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