NFL teams have been busy ramping up their efforts to keep up with the demands of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Los Angeles Rams bared the new changes in their daily operations and health protocols within their training center in Thousand Oaks, California.
NFL.com shared a glimpse of the health protocols within the new-look Rams facility:
Upon entering the facility, the players and team personnel are immediately welcomed by a set of protocols to be followed. Before entering the actual building, players will have to pass through a check-in table daily.
From there, they must clear another round of questions and then put on a contact-tracing clip, which will be placed in a wristband that they must wear everywhere in the facility and on the practice field. This will allow trainers to know where players have been and, more importantly, who they have been around while on site.
Once inside, parking spaces have been radically reduced because of what Scott calls a “Cirque du Soleil” tent that covers at least half of the player lot. It seriously is the size of a small-college gym.
The odd part of the tent: It's just the top — with no walls. This design allows for plenty of air flow, something that's always welcome and comfortable in Southern California and safer than having more than 100 players and coaches in tight, indoor spaces amid this pandemic.
The tent is where the Rams will hold team meetings and walkthroughs. Players also will be encouraged to eat their pre-packaged meals there so they can follow social distancing guidelines.
The Rams also tried to incorporate motion sensors in order to provide as close to a touch-less environment as possible. A major change in the facility was the players' locker room. They relocated it to a smaller media room where individual lockers are kept at a safe distance from one another.
Spraying mechanisms are also being utilized by the team in order to sanitize the different areas of the facility as often as possible.
Lastly, the team brought in Bio Reference as a testing partner in order to be able to conduct coronavirus tests for the players and personnel which will be held in a makeshift laboratory.
The changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic will need to take some time to get used to. However, implementing strict health protocols is the compromise needed for the season to push through.
Follow Us
Subscribe