Football Josh Vardaman
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — In this college football season, games have had to be canceled left and right across the country because of COVID-19. At Middle Tennessee, however, that hasn't been the case through seven games, thanks in large part to work behind the scenes.
Though it hasn't exactly been the schedule the Blue Raiders thought at one time they would play, they've been able to get all seven of their games in so far without a hiccup, including against UTSA on Sept. 25, which was added to the docket just six days prior to kickoff. That's quite a feat, considering there have only been five teams around the country who've played seven games.
A large amount of the credit for Middle Tennessee's ability to stay the course and get its games in can be directed to the sports medicine crew. They've worked behind the scenes to make sure the entire team — coaches, players and support staff — stay as healthy and safe as possible while also taking the lead over testing.
"Our training staff has done a phenomenal job of helping us get to this point," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "I can't give them enough credit for what they've done in fall camp and now that the season is in full swing."
Keith Bunch, associate athletic trainer in charge of football, has been at MT for seven years. In more than 15 years working in sports medicine, he's never seen a season like this one. That's what's made it extra difficult.
"It's a new situation that you don't have experience with and you don't have mentors or people who've gone through it before you can call and rely on," Bunch said. "One of the great things about our profession is if you have a certain injury, you can probably call somebody who's been in this business for a while … and get some advice. For all athletic trainers across the country, we didn't have that capability."
On top of their regular duties helping the Blue Raiders with aches and pains, Bunch's staff has had to implement new procedures and policies in the training room, on the practice field and on the sidelines during game day.
They've also had to figure out a schedule for testing the entire team's travel party multiple times weekly. A wrench was thrown into that against Rice, as the Owls required everyone traveling with the team to be tested when they arrived in Houston on Friday, then Bunch didn't receive the results until 8 a.m. Saturday. All were negative.
"We were told each individual would receive their results by email then Keith would get the complete list at the end," said Stockstill. "There were a lot of anxious moments with many people in the party waking up in the middle of the night checking their email. Just another obstacle to overcome in 2020."
Admittedly, the days when Bunch gets test results are some of the most stressful he's experienced.
"We've kind of joked that I'm like the COVID czar," he said. "I said the other day that every day after the tests is like Christmas morning, but you don't know if you're going to get a shiny gift and have all negative tests or a crummy gift and have some positives. It's a lot of work day in and day out."
All of the testing and other COVID-19-related facets have created almost a second job for Bunch. It's made the team around him even more critical.
"This is almost like a whole different job in itself, and it's taken me away from being more hands-on with the guys," Bunch said. "Hats off to our staff, because they've done a phenomenal job, and there's no way we could do it without them. They don't get enough credit for what they do.
"I feel like there's days where they carry me through this. … There's a lot of people who've put their heads together and figured out a plan. I think that plan for us has worked pretty well so far."
The sports medicine group has done a banner job so far behind the scenes helping the Blue Raiders reach game day each week, a rarity this college football season.
Though it hasn't exactly been the schedule the Blue Raiders thought at one time they would play, they've been able to get all seven of their games in so far without a hiccup, including against UTSA on Sept. 25, which was added to the docket just six days prior to kickoff. That's quite a feat, considering there have only been five teams around the country who've played seven games.
A large amount of the credit for Middle Tennessee's ability to stay the course and get its games in can be directed to the sports medicine crew. They've worked behind the scenes to make sure the entire team — coaches, players and support staff — stay as healthy and safe as possible while also taking the lead over testing.
"Our training staff has done a phenomenal job of helping us get to this point," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "I can't give them enough credit for what they've done in fall camp and now that the season is in full swing."
Keith Bunch, associate athletic trainer in charge of football, has been at MT for seven years. In more than 15 years working in sports medicine, he's never seen a season like this one. That's what's made it extra difficult.
"It's a new situation that you don't have experience with and you don't have mentors or people who've gone through it before you can call and rely on," Bunch said. "One of the great things about our profession is if you have a certain injury, you can probably call somebody who's been in this business for a while … and get some advice. For all athletic trainers across the country, we didn't have that capability."
On top of their regular duties helping the Blue Raiders with aches and pains, Bunch's staff has had to implement new procedures and policies in the training room, on the practice field and on the sidelines during game day.
They've also had to figure out a schedule for testing the entire team's travel party multiple times weekly. A wrench was thrown into that against Rice, as the Owls required everyone traveling with the team to be tested when they arrived in Houston on Friday, then Bunch didn't receive the results until 8 a.m. Saturday. All were negative.
"We were told each individual would receive their results by email then Keith would get the complete list at the end," said Stockstill. "There were a lot of anxious moments with many people in the party waking up in the middle of the night checking their email. Just another obstacle to overcome in 2020."
Admittedly, the days when Bunch gets test results are some of the most stressful he's experienced.
"We've kind of joked that I'm like the COVID czar," he said. "I said the other day that every day after the tests is like Christmas morning, but you don't know if you're going to get a shiny gift and have all negative tests or a crummy gift and have some positives. It's a lot of work day in and day out."
All of the testing and other COVID-19-related facets have created almost a second job for Bunch. It's made the team around him even more critical.
"This is almost like a whole different job in itself, and it's taken me away from being more hands-on with the guys," Bunch said. "Hats off to our staff, because they've done a phenomenal job, and there's no way we could do it without them. They don't get enough credit for what they do.
"I feel like there's days where they carry me through this. … There's a lot of people who've put their heads together and figured out a plan. I think that plan for us has worked pretty well so far."
The sports medicine group has done a banner job so far behind the scenes helping the Blue Raiders reach game day each week, a rarity this college football season.
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