 Okay, we are here on Hollingsworth field. I am here with Coach Hulgen and we are at football practice, but it's a different football practice than I've ever seen before. Can you kind of set the stage for us? Yeah, you know, it's for us right now practice is a little bit stranger than it's ever been. We're in pods. We're in pods of 11 smaller groups right now at the beginning of practice. We're just discussing goals and tasks for the week and then we'll be getting into what looks a little bit like a more normal practice, but in these times that we're in right now, we're in a kind of a socially distanced environment, practicing in a different way than we have than these guys have really ever practiced, but we're getting work done and so we're thankful for that. I mean that is super cool and I mean you can see you all have like really thought through this. I'll be honest like when I'm thinking about football of all sports it seems like one that is particularly challenging to think through how you do it in like a safe way. Right yeah I think you know right now we've got a three o'clock group and then we'll bring out a 430 group so this is not quite half of the team that's here right now so we've had to spread things out in that way. We're doing a lot of fundamentals, a lot of technique because this is not football, no helmets, no shoulder pads, no pads so we are not playing football but we are practicing the skills that hopefully will get us in that place where we can when we do get the green light to put our pads on will be in a better place. So help me with this piece because I feel like this is the most important question there might be a lot of folks who would say you know what there's a pandemic and there's a lot that's going wrong in the world maybe we should just like take a break or like not do it and yet obviously this means a lot to these guys and these students and I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about why this is so important that this is still happening. Yeah, this is incredibly important. You think about we've been away from each other for a long period of time we've been in our homes we've been we haven't been as social as we normally are and so being in a social environment that still allows for the safety that COVID has asked us to be in a responsible place. That's all important but boy bringing these guys on to campus having practices you talk to them this is probably the best part of their day because they get to connect they get to build those relationships and that's what makes Gustavus so special as those relationships. And specifically what does football mean to these guys to you to Gustavus? It means a lot means you know means it means a ton you know there's an incredible amount of training that goes into the preparation phase of playing a season we're not able to play for in a fall season first time for me in 25 years that we're not been playing football doing different stuff but this is incredibly meaningful work that's going on right now in the lives of our players yes what they're doing from a football standpoint but boy the relationship thing is where the rubber hits a road and in that part of it I'm just happy to be out here so we can experience that with our players right I mean I think that that's something that we can all get behind this past year has been tough and challenging and the thing that's gotten me through it is the people that I care about and the people that I have friendships with and that's exactly what's happening here behind us is building those friendships that's relationships and you know these guys have been on zoom sessions with each other as a team from March all the way through today we've had you know we had a zoom this morning so we're still doing a lot of zoom sessions in the name of the the pandemic and all the virtual stuff that's going on so this group has made a commitment to each other from along I mean from several months ago so now to be the ability to be out on the field with each other practicing is a big deal that is so cool well I think that it looks like things are getting started here so I should get out of you all's way but thank you so much for everybody who's watching at home and this is a good reminder of this is why we support Gustavus this is what it's all about yes it's about athletics and yes it's about academics but ultimately it's about these students and the experiences that they have and the relationships that they build that will last a lifetime and absolutely nothing can replace that and nothing can stop it and that is super cool yeah it's amazing and we're just so thankful to our alumni I mean you think of every one of these guys right now has got shorts on they got t-shirts on they got their shoes on and all of that is because of our alumni that the the experiences that our players get to have playing on one of the most premier fields in the country is special so our thanks always goes to our football alumni and friends of Gustavus football because without them we couldn't do the things we're up to that we do you heard it you can't do it without you so thank you thank you and please give and donate now thank you so much thank you very much coach you bet thank you all right all right Gus what are I don't know you're gonna go stretch out