Da Gama reveals Highlands Park's scrupulous planning

Highlands Park head coach Owen Da Gama has explained how much detail the club have put into their lockdown planning and preparations.

Da Gama has revealed that the Lions of the North are doing their utmost to keep their players and staff safe while also ensuring they are well-informed about the coronavirus, and know exactly what to do to stay fit and healthy.

"[Director] Larry Brookstone told the players that no-one leaves the province‚ so they are all still in Gauteng‚ even those from Cape Town‚ Durban etc‚" Da Gama told TimesLIVE.

"The players were given a questionnaire‚ asking who do they live with‚ what transport do they use and so on.

"Our physios Simoné Conley and Chris Kamper then held one-on-one workshops with the players to understand what they know about the virus and what they need to do to follow the rules. So the players are very well informed."

He added: "The players are given a programme every evening to keep it fresh‚ and Simone selects five players at random who must film what they are doing and upload it to our Highlands Park Lockdown WhatsApp group.

"The players then rate the session out of 10 for intensity and difficulty‚ so we are all in daily contact with the players and doing our best to keep that human contact and interaction going. I count on it and try to create some motivation.

"That is very important‚ because isolation can be difficult mentally. There is no doubt the players miss the team dynamics‚ being able to laugh and joke at training together.

"But they also understand the seriousness of the situation and why we are in a 21-day lockdown and are all following the rules and guidelines."

- TEAMtalk media