Friends of Fairfield Athletics 4/7/2021 9:04:00 PM

Staff Profile: Michael Harris

Michael Harris
Assistant Director of Athletics, Sports Performance

My experience at Fairfield in the last year:
In a word, suspenseful. Like most, we dealt with local and global changes in regulations and ran with them. Each week, it seemed there were different protocols to follow and pauses in different schools within the MAAC. We went from having people train with a partner last February to taping off twelve feet of space for athletes to safely train at their own rack. We're spraying and sanitizing our equipment between each training session, and tons of credit to our student-athletes, they've done a wonderful job of taking an active role in cleaning up spaces with us.

My biggest challenges/inspirations:
Strength and conditioning is inherently a hands-on job. It was a lot harder to motivate or keep people accountable when they're not in front of you. The toughest part was definitely keeping student-athletes engaged, while also adhering to NCAA regulations. Even posts on social media needed to be monitored to make sure we weren't overstepping.

It was fun figuring out how to effectively schedule for four hundred student-athletes to train two to four times each week. My staff did an incredible job brainstorming and adjusting to our new environment. We broke the sessions into 45-minute slots for up to 12 student-athletes, running from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. With this, our four staff members split the day to minimize contact in case one person had any issue due to Covid-19. This way, one person would quarantine while the other two split the remaining schedule. Our coaches were also creative, allowing for more outdoor training when weather permits, which freed up space inside.

Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann and our administration have been so supportive and proactive in helping find solutions to anything we were dealing with, including purchasing three more weight racks to increase our daily capacity, from accommodating 192 student-athletes each day to 240, while still maintaining our safety and cleaning standards.

My positive experiences this year:
Getting back on campus was such a great feeling. Seeing student-athletes coming back into the facilities, going back to practice, and prepping for legitimate competition against other schools helps you forget the hardships. Now that teams are back competing, every time we stand for the National Anthem, I take a moment to reflect on how blessed we all are.

What inspired me to keep moving forward:
Our student-athletes' resiliency is always an inspiration. Without knowing when another season may happen, or if it would be complete, they still trained with their team and individual goals in mind. For me, it's a no-brainer, I love what I do and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

How has this experience impacted me personally:
In December, I became a father! That was definitely the most amazing whirlwind I have ever experienced. Everyone tells you how special it is to be a parent, but that you do not exactly get it until it happens, and now I get it. The pandemic has made an impact on every facet of our new family dynamic. Try telling your parents that the doctors recommended they get a Covid-19 test, flu shot, and whooping cough vaccine before they can come by to meet their grandchild. Oh, and then there is the reminder to please wear a mask around him! There's no longitudinal research on acute or chronic effects of Covid-19 on babies, so we are all learning at the same time and just hoping the decisions we make are helping improve his quality of life. Luckily, he hasn't complained.

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