POCATELLO, Idaho – Jenny Ryan has help. Her husband, Dan, the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Idaho State Athletics is typically at the weight room by 5:30 a.m. to get ready for the first wave of student-athletes to arrive for a lifting session at 6 a.m. His day is full of training Bengal student-athletes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Now that has changed.
Due to the directive to stay at home, Dan is now able to help Jenny in the morning get their daughter Norah ready. While one is making breakfast the other is getting her ready for the day. In the evening one has helped get dinner while the other tends to their 19 month old daughter.
"I used to wake up at 6:30 and get myself ready first before I woke up my daughter," Jenny said.
The extra time at home has meant a lot to Norah.
"Norah has loved it," Jenny said. "The extra time they have had together has been sweet."
So what has the one adjustment for Jenny, who works from home for a design company in Boise, been?
"Dan is subleasing office space out of my work space," she said. "He has set up downstairs while I am upstairs. It is funny to see more of the professional side of him. It is a totally different side that I don't get to see often."
For Ryan and Julianna Looney this spring has been quite the contrast from what they experienced last year when Point Loma made a run to the Division II National championship game.
The Looney family is used to him leaving for work early and returning late.
"When he is not at work he is watching film or on the phone," Julianna said. "We will sit down and watch film with him when we can."
Now that the NCAA is not allowing NCAA recruiting visits on campus or traveling, Looney is having to rediscover his new normal.
"He is real anal when it comes to routines," Julianna said. "Now that it is disrupted he doesn't quite know what to do."
Looney has still kept plenty busy.
"At times I need to separate myself and go on a hike but I am on the phone trying to convince recruits to come to Idaho State," Ryan said. "I am trying to show kids this is where they need to be without scheduling a visit. I have been doing a lot of video chats with parents, high school, AAU and junior college coaches."
And when is home with no games to watch?
"He is watching a lot of reruns of past games," Julianna said. "Last night we did watch Glory Road."
For football coach Rob Phenicie, he should be less than a week away from the start of spring football. Now he and his wife Jennifer are cleaning out the garage, having zoom meetings and watching old movies.
"It feels like spring break with nothing to do," Jennifer said. "Our real spring break plans were to go to Los Angeles to watch some Kings games but we'll have to go next year. It's been interesting. "
This past week the Phenicie's have spent time watching documentaries and old movies on Disney Plus.
"We have watched stuff we have watched as kids," Jennifer said.
With no kids in the house the Phenicie house has a lot more flexibility with their schedules.
"Since it is just the two of us my work is really flexible," Jennifer said. "It feels like summer with bad weather."
