Sports Have Resumed on Seattle University’s Campus
With the commencement of fall classes at Seattle University comes the welcoming of students back to campus. Additionally, that means the restart of Sports on campus for the first time since the school shut them down in March due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The sports have come back under strict rules implemented by both the state and the University. This means that all teams will be going about their business split up into groups of five, so as to reduce the possible spread of Covid-19. This presents challenges for all sports teams, but all are willing to adapt if it means that they can start training as a team again.
“The groups are different and restricting, so it is a little weird to not be able to play full speed, but we are making the most of what we get” said John, who has been participating in practices with the division 1 men’s basketball team here on campus.
This difference is for sure a forward step from nothing, but still does not seem to be close enough to the real thing for the student-athletes, who are used to competing hard every day.
Additionally, all Fall sports competition has been currently postponed with a tentative start date of late winter or the beginning of Spring quarter. This includes sports such as Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Track, and part of Men’s and Women’s Tennis. This can be difficult for participants of all of these teams. Hal Uderitz, from the Men’s Soccer team offered some insight on that,
“With our season cancelled, and no concrete date put on when we it begins, it makes it much more difficult to work towards something as a team. The preparation will be completely different this year compared to what we are used to.” Additionally, expanding upon student-athlete life on campus right now he said, “It is a lot different here right now, there are not very many students on campus and we obviously aren’t allowed to hangout in groups or do anything social, which is hard. But we have to make sure that we as a team stay focused and don’t do anything that could potentially jeopardize our season when we get a shot.”
While this could be very difficult for the teams, they know the importance of the safety of each and every student on campus, and the effect they might have on others. It is good to see how each team is finding the balance between being on the college campus and having friends, as well as the responsibility that comes with the position they are in right now. It seems as if there is a spotlight on the sports teams right now during these uncertain times. As of now, no student-athlete at Seattle University has tested positive for Covid-19 while on campus, and if that maintains, we could see these sports getting after it in full force sooner rather than later.