NORFOLK, Va. — College athletics have not been immune to omicron's sweep through the Commonwealth.
This week alone, the Virginia Tech men's team, Virginia women's team, ODU women's team, Hampton women's team, and Norfolk State men's and women's teams have had games postponed due to COVID19.
For Head Coach Larry Vickers and the Norfolk State women's basketball team, COVID tests are as common as jump shots.
"We take PCR's weekly and then we take rapids all the time, some of my players can perform the test themselves, they don't even need the trainers," said Vickers.
The Spartans recently had their first positive test of the year.
"The first test comes back, and any sports team is such a tight-knit group when you first test positive its 'this is about to be bad,'" Vickers said.
Players who test positive go into quarantine.
"Players have to isolate, which they hate... Then we all have to take rapids and figure out how we can continue to play."
Then comes the decision on upcoming games. The Spartans have yet to cancel a game due to positives within their own program.
Nonetheless, their next game has still been postponed after their opponent entered COVID protocols.
"A game being canceled two years ago you're like how much is that team gonna pay, nowadays you go on ESPN app and half the games are being canceled," said Vickers.
Now the players who tested positive can start working their way back.
"Last year, the team didn't touch ball from march to mid-October so right out the gate bunch of injuries so now we're talking preventative maintenance when you're out for 10-12 days," Vickers said.
That is where the Spartans are now, in limbo as the team fills in.
Vickers said, "we don't have a full team to practice at this point. After January 1st they'll start trickling back."
Such is the life of a college athlete as 2022 nears.
"That's the difficult part, can't turn it off and on, try to keep them revved up, we're not a light switch.
As of now, Coach Vickers and his team will start MEAC conference play against Maryland Eastern Shore on January 8th.