For Penn State, Another Preseason Project: Building Team Chemistry

Penn State coach James Franklin says team-building is among his primary preseason concerns.

Penn State coach James Franklin wanted to invite the team's freshmen to his house for dinner, as he has done countless times in the past. Only this time, he was forced to ask the team's training staff trainers for virus-prevention guidelines.

By the time they delivered the list of requirements (boxed food only, distance the players, etc.), Franklin sighed.

"It didn't sound like a whole lot of fun," he said.

As if they didn't have enough concerns about keeping their players healthy and virus-free, college football coaches are finding something else to worry about: How do they rebuild team chemistry in the COVID-19 era?

Penn State restarts training camp Sept. 30 on its way to its Oct. 24 opener at Indiana and has plenty to accomplish. In addition to putting on the pads for the first time in nine months and installing their new offense, the Lions have to conduct some team-building exercises, too.

Sure, Penn State has done that through video calls since March, and the players have been training together since early June. But they haven't hit each other, or anyone else, since the Cotton Bowl. And they really haven't spent much time together as a full team.

That's one reason Franklin called team-building a priority of the next month.

"That's probably the thing I am most concerned about, is the chemistry stuff," Franklin said. "Usually, I'll have guys over to my house a lot. Whether it's in the house watching games and eating, whether it's taking them to [the sports restaurant] Champs or whether it's taking to the bowling alley and just having some fun."

Franklin has made team-building exercises (movies, bowling, etc.) frequent one-day breaks of his August training camps. When players began returning for voluntary workouts, they moved toward chemistry building on their own.

"It's important for us all to be back among each other so we can see each other's faces again," running back Noah Cain said recently. "So when it's time to come back to camp, our faces aren't foreign and we are used to each other's vibe and chemistry."

With preventive measures in place, however, Franklin has to get more creative with his team-building.

"How is it not just football, football, football and school, without some of the fun things that we all do as coaches to build that chemistry that's important?" Franklin asked.

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