USC great Connor Shaw helping Gamecocks deal with mental health side of shutdown
A plan on this front — keeping up one’s mental health in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic — might require something as basic and serious as developing a daily routine, but also perhaps something on the less serious side.
In this case, Connor Shaw’s call for a “Madden” video game tournament between South Carolina football players.
The Gamecocks are split apart at the moment, their usual athletic and academic routines broken up by the university campus shutting down. Players and coaches are at home, separated by miles and state borders.
And Shaw, one the most accomplished quarterbacks in program history, has been tasked with a key role.
“Connor Shaw is meeting on Zoom with our team one time a week to go through the mental health issues and developing a routine, staying positive and staying connected,” Muschamp said. “Social distancing is more physical distancing, and make sure that our team is staying connected, and Connor is doing a great job of that.”
Shaw stepped into USC’s player development role that Marcus Lattimore left this offseason. His role is heavily built around advice and guiding players toward being ready for post-playing days, whenever they come.
Muschamp said the coaches are also talking to players every day. His message has just been about staying positive and safe until things return to normal. Coaches can’t do such things as monitor workouts, but they can do four hours a week of meetings by video chat.
The coach declined to speculate on the logistics of football going forward, including when players might be able to return to campus or whether games will happen.
Shaw has also been coming up with other ways to keep players connected online, which included the tournament featuring the hit “Madden” football video game.
The staff also has had sports psychologist and performance consultant Kevin Elko speak to members of the Gamecocks. He’s worked with multiple NFL teams and top college programs such as LSU and Alabama.
“Dr. Kevin Elko is meeting with our leadership group once a week to talk about leadership and adversity and crisis,” Muschamp said. “And I think that’s been very beneficial for us.”
