Some Saints staying home
Coronavirus concerns have several athletes taking classes remotely
Coronavirus concerns have several of the college’s athletes taking classes remotely this fall./
Abby Huffman and Mark Sojer are Siena athletes taking classes at different ends of the globe this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Huffman, a junior on the volleyball team, studies courses online from her room in the basement of her family ’s home in San Rafael, Calif., in the Bay Area. Sojer, a sophomore soccer player, is learning remotely from his first-floor apartment in the capital city of Llubljana in Slovenia.
They're among 10 Siena athletes who have decided to study from home this semester, according to an athletic department spokesman.
Huffman said fear of contracting COVID -19 was foremost in her decision. Though she's asthmatic, Huffman said she's more worried about any unknown long-term effects the virus might have.
“My main concern was just the campus environment,” said Huffman, a creative arts major. “It just seems like a really highrisk place to be for me. I’m not high-risk myself, but I’m still very concerned about catching the virus, and the way I’ve seen things go on other college campuses has just reassured me about my decision, even though I definitely wish I could be there with my team and it’s kind of hard to miss out on that stuff.”
Sojer decided to stay in Central Europe once the fall season was canceled because of the virus. He added the Slovenian government is encouraging students to stay home rather than study abroad during the pandemic.
His own grandfather struggled with the virus before recovering. He spoke with his family and decided to stay home this semester.
“I do take COVID seriously, but honestly I’m not trying to think of it too much,’’ Sojer said. Though they ’re not missing
any games — Siena intends to play its fall sports during the spring — Huffman and Sojer aren’t able to take part in the organized team workouts that are allowed this autumn.
For Sojer, that means he has yet to meet his freshman teammates or new Siena soccer coach Graciano Brito in person, though they do speak every other day on Whatsapp.
“I would say the toughest thing is since we got new teammates and a new coach, it’s a privilege to be there right now and to meet everyone,” Sojer said. “But I think we have a strong connection and good team chemistry, so I wouldn’t say I am falling too much behind.”
He and teammates Svavar Nokkvason, who is in Iceland, are the soccer players who chose remote learning.
“Obviously, Mark deciding to stay there was a personal choice,
one that I respect,” Brito said. “We talked at length about it and it was a mutual decision that it was best for him and his family to stay. But obviously, it
affects him tremendously in terms of his continued development on the soccer field and hurts as a team because Mark played a significant part on the
team last year.”
Sojer said he plans to return to Siena this spring, as long as the virus doesn’t force a shutdown of the campus. Meanwhile, Huffman said she’d “play it by ear." She wasn’t sure there will be a spring sports season.
“It would be nice, but I’m not incredibly optimistic, just because I do know a vaccine is going to take until at least summer, maybe even fall, to get distributed,” she said. “I hope everything goes well this fall, but I’m just not sure."
Siena volleyball coach Vilis Ozols said he understood Huffman’s reservations, which she described in detail in writing to him. She’s the only member of the team to decide to stay home, though she said other teammates had similar concerns.
Huffman takes part in the team’s Zoom conferences.
“I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for Abby,” Ozols said. “She’s a starter and a valuable member of the team, and we miss her because of that, but I don’t think there’s any stigma
with her not being here.”
While Huffman takes four classes and does an internship, Sojer is enrolled in six classes as a marketing major. The time difference can create challenges. One class is from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., Slovenian time, but an understanding professor gives him a recording.
To stay in shape, he practices with a local amateur team. Huffman goes to a school near her home and works on serving and passing the ball against a wall.
She said she feels more comfortable at home, rather than Siena, which has reported 23 positive cases.
It didn't disclose how many, if any, are in the athletics community.
“It’s good to feel kind of safe where I’m living,” Huffman said. “Because I know if I was on campus with the positive cases and roommates and a college environment, I would not feel safe.”