MINOOKA, Ill. -- In the age of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, no one would know if Brooklyn Bachmann skipped a rep on her workout.
“This is a test for us mentally, not just physically. You have to hold yourself accountable,” the Bemidji State women’s basketball captain said. “I think that’s what’s so great about this team: All of us want to go to the next level so bad that no one’s skipping reps.”
Normally, BSU would be together in the early stages of its offseason right now. But, as each day has taught lately, everyday life is anything but normal.
Still, the Beavers are navigating the challenges before them and creating solutions. “Zoom” has entered common vernacular as a near-necessity for connection, and Bemidji State is using the video chat platform to stay together while dispersed throughout the region.
“Zoom makes it so much easier to connect with everyone as a group,” said BSU assistant coach Jamie Schultz, who has coordinated weekly team workouts. “We really have a culture that’s developed, especially within the last year, of everyone wanting to step up and do things. … It’s almost more valuable now than it’s ever been.”
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Each Wednesday in April, bright and early at 6:30 a.m., the Beavers have been up and at ‘em to exercise together. Calling in from near and far, the team has found a central place to assemble online.
“Being able to watch everyone on the screen and know that you’re not doing it alone brings back the sense of team,” Bachmann said. “We’re all doing it together even though we’re so far apart.”
Bachmann, a soon-to-be senior guard out of Minooka, Ill., has kept busy from more than 600 miles from campus. Alongside the team’s Wednesday workouts, which mainly consist of bodyweight training, she and her teammates have basketball-specific drills to knock out and additional exercises from Bemidji State’s strength and conditioning coaches.
“I think what will set us apart next year is that everyone still has the mindset to work so hard,” Bachmann said. “Everyone is improving their own game in their own way. (Usually) we don’t always get a chance to do that because we have team workouts. So now is a good chance for everyone to be focused on themselves and do what they need to get done to carry into next year.”
Though the 2020-21 season still feels a ways away, BSU recognizes the work put forth now could pay off come November and beyond.
“We’re getting better because it’s a way for us to be together as a program and push each other as a program,” Schultz said of the team exercises. “Coaches are doing the workouts, too. We’re grinding it out together. And I think our players really value that.”
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Without any teammates in the same zip code, the easy way out is probably easier than ever. But, if you ask Bachmann, none of the Beavers are looking for a way out.
“This group of girls is really committed,” she said. “I think it will build us in a positive way. Even though we’re apart, this is a time for us to work.”
