(04-16-2020, 05:05 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote: Maybe there are these things every year and maybe this is the first year they've extended an invite to donors as puny as me, but I watched a (virtual) Buck talk with the Coaches Shaw, VandDerveer, Haase and Allister for the first time today.
Some impressions: first, the event was so warm. All of the coaches were so thoughtful that it made be feel better, even comforted, and happy to be part of the Stanford community and a supporter.
Coach VanDerveer in particular talked about how the season ended so suddenly and how sad that was for departing seniors. February and March were so mad, things happened so quickly, I had forgotten what that was like, and looking back it was easier to remember how sad this is for seniors everywhere. In a way, I could take it in more now because things aren't as frantic as they were in March.
It was exciting to hear the coaches talk about recruiting and about the upcoming seasons. Coach Shaw talked about Tanner McKee and Davis Mills and this year's recruits. Haase was asked about the recruiting of Ziaire Wiliams but Haase's pixelated feed kept breaking up -- somebody needs to get that man a new laptop and a faster Internet connection.
The talks remind me how exciting and special Stanford is and how special Stanford athletics are. There are a lot of important causes in need due to the pandemic, and I keep switching as to how much support my family can allocate to Stanford Athletics, but being reminded of those kids and those teams, and what great people the coaches are, made me much more likely to see what I can do this upcoming year to help out a little more financially, even if I cannot be there in person.
I missed the part in the opening with Bernard Muir about the possibility of re-opening for sports, but of course they're looking at it hard. They're preparing hard for the possibility. I love the intense, but thoughtful tone by Coach VanDerveer, about the pause in sports -- they want to play, they want to be on campus, they are preparing to play, but they have trust in the medical professionals -- in the county and on-campus -- and they will roll with whatever comes.
Coach Allister's closing remark: I'm so proud to part of Stanford... I'm proud to be part a university that works for the common good.
It was a great hour, with 650+ online. Only negative was Haase’s technical issue.
Shaw said they were expecting to get medical guidance on how many weeks of preparation they would need before playing a game, but he mentioned 6-7 weeks. He clearly was not a fan of playing off-season, so a shortened or extended season could be on the table.
The talk about the variety of training conditions the athletes were facing (e.g., the Hulls building a gym in their basement).
Allister mentioned she would be consulting with Shaw about coaching 5th years, which she could be doing for the next 4 years.
Muir said they are investing up to $1M in bringing back 5th years. He mentioned that’s he, the senior staff, and the coaches had reduced their pay given the new budget constraints. Tara mentioned that she was looking forward to hiring an assistant coach when the hiring freeze is lifted.