November 24, 2020 at 11:26 a.m.
Winter practice notebook
Hodag hoops thankful for the opportunity to play
Winter practice notebook
Things looked a little different. All of the players were wearing masks and the team was separated into varsity, JV and JV2 groups throughout the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. But the simple fact that the team was on the court was music to head coach Derek Lemmens' ears.
"We're in the gym and we're playing," he said. "I'm not going to complain at all. It's different. It's going to take some getting used to, but the fact of the matter is the opportunity is there. There are places that don't have the opportunity. We're going to appreciate it and we're going to make the most of it."
The last wave of RHS winter sports began practice Monday, with boys' basketball, wrestling and boys' swimming getting into full swing in preparation for their seasons.
At basketball practice, Lemmens said the biggest challenge was all of the extra logistics, including practice spacing, extra sanitation and mask wearing. The masks, especially, will take some getting used to, he said.
"We're going to take a lot of breaks but, at the end of the day, I think a lot of it is a mental barrier as well," Lemmens said. "These guys have to kind of get over that and accept the fact that this is what it is. We're going to be able to play, and that's all we can ask for."
Another challenge this year is that, with the RHS football team concluding its season last Thursday, a number of basketball players have had little time to transition between sports. The players had three to four days to transition between seasons as opposed to the typical three to four weeks.
"It's harder on the guys, as individuals, I think without that break between to kind of rest, but the nice thing is that we start and then they have a little Thanksgiving break. So we're really kind of easing into the season," Lemmens said. "It's a different shape but, at the end of the day, they're in shape. We'll all get in shape together. We'll get to basketball shape, but they're coming in from football with a great foundation."
Lemmens added that because his team has a number of returning varsity contributors, the transition into the start of the season has been a little easier. The Hodags will scrimmage at Wausau West on Saturday and will open the season Dec. 4 at Northland Pines.
"The scrimmage is really going to sneak up on us, but we have nice time after the scrimmage to make adjustments and be ready for our first game," he said. "We just need to get comfortable with each other and determine roles. We've got a lot of guys that can play and can get some minutes ... Once we establish those roles, we're going to be that much better as a team."
Wrestlers adjusting to the new normal
The start of this year's wrestling practice looked a lot different than any Paul Ellenbecker has seen in his nearly decade leading the Hodags.
Numbers are down and uncertainty is up as wrestling, considered to be one of the highest-risk sports in terms of close contact and possible transmission of COVID-19, tries to grapple with the best way to conduct the season.
"It's very different this year," Ellenbecker said. "The uncertainty is kind of driving everyone insane, not knowing what's up, what's going to happen, how long our season is. It's hard on everybody. We don't know, as coaches, what to tell the kids. Is there going to be a state tournament?"
As of now, the wrestling competition schedule will look much different, with the WIAA recommending that wrestling teams schedule only single-opponent competitions and that there be a minimum of six to seven days between competitions.
That means the multi-school dual and scramble invitationals that have been a staple for years are off. Even the tournament Rhinelander was hoping to hold next month to help christen the new Hodag Dome has gone by the boards. As a result, the Hodags have only six duals and the conference tournament currently on the schedule. Typically, the team would have 14 regular season events and individual wrestlers would have 30-plus matches under their belts by the time the WIAA tournament rolls around.
Ellenbecker said all of the uncertainty has led to roughly a 33% drop in participation this year. Making matters worse, the start of practice coincided with a week that typically has a high absentee rate, between Wisconsin's nine-day gun deer season and the Thanksgiving holiday break.
"With our numbers being down, we're going to make do the best we can and be as positive as we can with it, but it is frustrating knowing that it's tough on the kids, tough on the coaches, tough on everybody," he said.
The biggest change at practice, aside from wearing masks, is that the group has been segregated into three separate practice pods.
"We have the littles, middles and the bigs, depending on their weight class," Ellenbecker explained. "We basically have three teams getting coached by our coaches. Each coach stays with a pod and they're in charge of running the practice, running the weightlifting, running the conditioning, all the extras that go with it."
The Hodags are scheduled to take part in a non-conference match at Crandon next Friday before opening the GNC season at home Dec. 10 against Antigo.
Boys' swimmers look to ride wave of fall success
Less than two weeks removed from guiding the RHS girls' swim team to its first ever WIAA state championship, coach Jenny Heck was back in the pool Monday, gearing up for the start of the boys' swim season.
There is no doubt that the boys' squad is eager ride the momentum. A handful of the boys' swimmers were there in the wee hours Nov. 14 to greet the members of the girls' swim team when they returned home with a state title and that enthusiasm has carried over into the start of the boys' season.
"They had some captains' practices and we able to get in the water. I think they're ready to go," Heck said.
The team, which has won back-to-back Great Northern Conference titles, is entering the season in very good physical condition, she added. Like the girls' squad, the boys were able to train in the Heck Family Community Pool late this summer once it was reopened by the district. However, team members have had to get creative in the three months since the start of the girls' season.
"They are a really motivated group," Heck said. "A lot of were swimming at the Y(MCA of the Northwoods). It took a lot of time to try to schedule some times where they could swim there offseason. They were doing that. They were lifting weights. Physically, they look like they're in good shape and they've been doing a lot of preparation, just thinking about technique, watching some videos, trying to improve on some things that we otherwise don't take the time to do."
Numbers-wise, the group does not have a lot of extra depth. With 13 swimmers, the team barely has enough to fill all the entries in a standard dual meet program. But Heck noted the smaller group helps in terms of social distancing in Rhinelander's five-lane pool.
The team was originally scheduled to open the season Dec. 1 at home against Tomahawk, but that meet has been pushed back to Dec. 22. That gives the Hodags two extra days to prepare for the season opener Dec. 3 against Medford.
"We're just trying to get back into a lot of the basics, get some endurance built up, get some strength, get a little bit of technique in. We're just trying to cram a lot into a little bit of time," Heck said.
Alpine skiers scrambling due to the virus
Every RHS winter sport has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way, shape or form, but so far none more than the Hodag Alpine ski and snowboard team. That's because the pandemic has left the team scrambling for a temporary new home. It was announced last month that Ski Brule in Iron River, Mich. - the Hodags' home hill for the past couple of decades - will not be making snow for the upcoming season due to the pandemic. As a result, the hill will be unable to host practices or competitions this winter.
Rhinelander coach Rod Olson said the team has struck an agreement with Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Bessemer, Mich., to host training and one competition, once it opens next month. In the meantime, the team will have to try to supplement with trips to other ski hills whenever it is feasible.
"Up until then, we're doing a massive amount of fundraising," Olson said. "Everything is kind of screwed up for us. I think we had the toughest go of it all because we're the only team (in the Northern Conference) that has a hill that just isn't going to make any snow. We've had more to deal with ourselves than some of our counterparts."
Even fundraising is proving to be difficult. The team typically holds an Italian-style dinner each December at Holiday Acres Resort. However, that event has also been scrapped for this year due to the pandemic. Olson said the team will be writing letters to local businesses and individuals who have supported the dinner in the past to solicit donations.
All of the uncertainty, Olson said, has had impact on participation.
"We had I would bet five or six new kids coming on that had not been in the junior high program and just first starting as high schoolers," he said. "They have all decided not to give it a go, and a lot of it's just due to the unknowns - the unknown costs. The other kids that are invested in it already are ready to do that, but it's tough to gain any numbers this year."
As far as practice itself, Olson said things have gone well so far. The team spent last week in the weight room and on the football field. The Alpine team is one of several that will look to take advantage of the open space inside the Hodag Dome as it becomes available.
"From a dryland standpoint, it's excellent for us, with the exception of having to have a mask on most of the time," he said. "I'd say this year, with the improvement in the facilities and next year when all this grass is growing (around the dome), it's just an awesome dryland training thing for us."
Olson said he is hopeful the team will be able to get on snow by the end of next week. The Northern Conference schedule will begin Jan. 7, Olson said. The plan is to conduct a normal five-race season.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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