Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
3 4 M A Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O ne of the biggest changes that Penn State has undergone dur- ing the first few months of Matt Campbell's tenure as head coach is one that most fans probably never noticed this spring. In previous years, the Nittany Lions practiced in the afternoon. They were hardly alone in that regard. Afternoon practices are a foundational element of nearly all college football programs, one that most coaches never question because the norm was established decades earlier. Campbell, too, used to adhere to this particular piece of conventional wisdom. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college athletics in the spring and summer of 2020, he began evaluating his approach to some of the basic tenets of the job. One of the byproducts of that pe- riod of reflection was a switch to morning practices. 'Life On Fast Forward' It's been six years since the pandemic brought everyday life to a halt, but the secondary and tertiary impacts are still being felt. In 2021, a year after the lockdown, Campbell took part in a speaking engage- ment with Iowa high school coaches dur- ing which he discussed what he learned about himself and his team in that period. "I got a head coaching job at the age of 31, and it's been life on fast forward over the last 10 years," he explained. "When do you ever get the chance to sit back and re- flect on what you stand for? What are you about? How are you building a program and how are you doing things the right way? In our profession, we don't get op- portunities to do that until you get fired." When Campbell and his staff began thinking about the future, one of their priorities was "charting a territory of how we will move ourselves forward." Fore- most in their minds was how they could make the best use of their time with play- ers. Time, after all, is a finite resource. There's only so much of it each day, and how it's spent shapes outcomes more than almost anything else. Campbell emerged with a plan. At first, he was vague on the specifics when speaking publicly, but the big picture was EARLY EARLY RISERS RISERS A change in Penn State's practice routine could yield on-field results this fall T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Coach Matt Campbell moved Iowa State's practices from afternoons to mornings following the pandemic and felt the early sessions helped facilitate player development. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER