Assessing the Impact of the College Volleyball Strategy during the COVID-19 Epidemic

 Compensation

Athletics conferences have worked to reduce the cost of providing sports programs while working during the global COVID-19 epidemic. Another strategy was to use competitive times. For example, the “Sun Belt” conference focused on the game and the goal of women’s volleyball in the 2020 season. The schools played three games in two days against a team. This experience has reduced travel and special contact costs with players when it comes to the need to search for names as part of player safety rules. This study examines the impact of this software structure on player performance and overall competitive quality. Gathering information from boxes from all of the Sun Belt Conference volleyball games, the impact of player fatigue (daily and public) is not in the team statistics. Although he played three games in two days, the player's performance and the overall quality of the team's game did not decline. Conference staff and university athletic directors can find solace in the fact that their efforts to reduce costs during the global epidemic and ensure the safety of athletes do not affect sports performance and overall competitiveness. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. The need to control / reduce operating costs will not be eliminated. This hurdle could lead to the adoption of new meeting plan formats in the future.

Keywords: player fatigue in college volleyball, examples of team sports behavior

IN THE FLOWERS

By March 2020, the U.S. track and field team had begun a change that few could expect due to the escalation of the COVID-19 epidemic at the time. That same month, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) abruptly canceled the Men's Basketball I Cup. and member meetings. With the cancellation of a competition, NCAA members will be forced to cut their budgets by about $ 375 million. Many institutions have already invested in annual work plans (1).

In the months that followed, sports departments were reduced, canceled, or delayed in most of the fall and winter sports. Clemson University, for example, expected $ 40 million in revenue from the athletics department (15). These amendments included a reduction in ticket sales, a reduction in the number of supporters, a reduction in annual supplies, and other financial results. These actions put additional financial pressure on organizations. With the decline in revenue, schools have had to look at ways to reduce operating costs. Many schools have ordered holidays, reduced jobs, delayed recruitment, reduced meeting time, limited competition, and reduced travel in general.

Some facilities have decided to eliminate all groups, especially sailing, swimming, tennis, field and volleyball. More than 2,000 student athletes have witnessed the destruction of various teams. Hundreds of coaches and support staff have lost their jobs (11). NCAA Division I schools must support at least 16 games in the Football Bowl Division (FBS) schools, a figure that the NCAA has consistently maintained during the COVID-10 (20) epidemic. As a result, it has become difficult for athletics departments to create cost-cutting measures to support broader athletic programs.

During the epidemic, athletic conferences can be facilitated by organizing meeting times, focusing on local competitions, bringing in less teams for championships, and using central venues for copyright-related events, reducing the number of officers in each competition, and other measures to reduce the number of events. designs. meaning. For example, the Sun Belt Conference focused on special environmental competitions for women’s volleyball (i.e., playing only East or West opponents) for the 2020 season. Programs played three games (with best games)atches on one day and then play a single match the very next day. Intuitively, this change in format could potentially lead to a change in player or team performance as players experience the fatigue of a two-match day followed up with the cumulative fatigue of a three-match in two-day approach. A higher level of fatigue during the second and third matches may be relevant to the NCAA because additional fatigue could lead to more injuries and reduce the quality of play. It is hypothesized that fatigued volleyball players are more likely to commit errors and less likely to execute athletic plays including kills, blocks, and saves. If players are more fatigued during the second and third matches, the game may be less entertaining for fans and participants.

It must be noted that other conferences and other NCAA sports also adjusted their schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the thirty-two Division I volleyball conferences, only two maintained a typical schedule during the 2020-21 school year. Six conferences elected to play in the fall with teams playing back-to-back games (e.g., similar to the Sun Belt Conference). Seventeen conferences opted to reschedule their games to Spring 2021 with teams playing each other in consecutive games. The remaining seven conferences chose to play in the spring with no back-to-back games. While each conference and each sport responded differently to the pandemic, most NCAA conferences adjusted to the pandemic by making teams play fewer contests and with less time between contests, in addition to having teams play each other multiple times in a row.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PARTICIPATION

According to NCAA data, women's volleyball was a sponsored sport at 97% of NCAA institutions in 2019 (DI = 95%, DII = 99%, and DIII = 97%). That statistic makes it the third most-frequently sponsored women's NCAA sport behind basketball and cross country (14). According to data compiled by the National Federation of State High School Associations over the last decade, the number of high school volleyball players has increased by more than 40,000 while the number of basketball players has declined by over 23,000 (6). NCAA data indicates approximately 3.9% of high school volleyball players advance to playing college volleyball (13).

Most state high school athletic organizing bodies place limits on the number of allowable matches per team per day. For example, the Texas University Intercollegiate Scholastic League (UIL) constitution contains the following player restrictions for volleyball (21):

Number of Matches Per Day in Tournaments. No team or student shall compete in more than three matches per day in tournament play. Exception: Contestants or teams may play in four matches per calendar day in a one-day tournament scheduled on a Saturday, and contestants or teams may play in four matches per day during a two-day tournament.

As high school athletes, many volleyball players are active on a club team as well. During this phase of their development, volleyball players often play 2-3 matches per day, and 4-6 matches over the typical two-day tournament. When these high school student-athletes transition to college volleyball, they are typically playing one match per day.