Bishop’s athletes adapt to no practice or gym access
This school year has been a challenging one for all factions of the Bishop’s University community. Varsity athletic teams are no exception. Having no inter university competition has certainly been a letdown for Bishop’s Gaiters student athletes. However, the challenges they face are much more varied than simply disappointment.
Year-round physical fitness is necessary to play a sport at the university level. During the bulk of the fall semester at Bishop’s, sports practices were permitted, and the fitness centre was open. Provincial lockdown and regional red-zone restrictions, however, make that unlikely for the coming winter semester. Gaiter athletes now have to adapt and find other ways to stay physically fit.
Karl Szabo, a third-year defender and captain of the Bishop’s lacrosse team explained that it’s more than just lack of gym access making it hard for teams to stay in game shape.
“Staying motivated while training is very difficult right now, there are obstacles like not being able to be around your teammates for encouragement, and outdoor training being limited due to weather. We just need to try and push through all that.”
He added that getting outside and snowshoeing as well as using at-home workouts are examples of how he is trying to keep fit.
Some athletes face an issue that their teammates might not. A year of missed competition can be devastating for players who have aspirations of future opportunities in their respective sports. An example being the goal of getting drafted to a professional sports league.
Marty Rourke, Bishop’s University’s sports information coordinator offered his thoughts on how a lost season affects the future of student athletes,
“As far as we understand eligibility will not be affected, meaning studentathletes will not be charged with a year of eligibility for the 2020-21 season. There is a small minority of studentathletes who are potentially affected in terms of future opportunities,” Rourke explained.
Looking towards next school year with hopes of a return to normalcy, Bishop’s teams want to make sure that they do not lose any ground to other schools.
“Our season begins the minute the previous one ends. Once we play our last game in the fall, we begin preparations for the next season,” Szabo pointed out.
He stressed that doing their best to overcome aforementioned obstacles is key since, “Come next fall it’ll be easy to tell which teams addressed these challenges the right way and which teams did not.”
Kalin O’brien, a veteran player on the Bishop’s women’s soccer team echoed that sentiment and shared how her team is adapting.
“Since we don’t have access to the sports facilities right now, we have technical, tactical, cognitive, and fitness sessions through zoom so we can keep each other accountable.”
She added that she believes those sessions will pay dividends come next season.