This story is part of a collaboration between Central Connecticut State University and University of Central Lancashire.
For nearly three months, the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively shut down all sports and the world around them. Many in the United States and United Kingdom have lost their livelihood, passion, or hobby, but they are finding ways to fill the void.
“I really believe that if you sit and dwell on things, it can get to you quite easily,” Andrew Jefferson, who lives in Carlisle, England, said. “I had a couple of flat days last week where work was rubbish, I had no motivation to do anything but just a small job around the house or planting some vegetables can really take your mind off of things.”
Jefferson is a sports junkie. He said that due to the Covid-19 lock down, he lost a lot of opportunities to not only go watch his favorite teams in action, but also the opportunity to get active with his friends.
However, like people in the United States and England alike, he has adjusted. Instead of going to games together, he and his friends now have Zoom calls to stay in touch. Instead of going cycling together, they figured out a different way to compete, timed trials.
“One of my friends came up with an idea of timed trial segments,” Jefferson said. “The top person chooses the trial for the next week.”
The way timed trials work is everyone goes individually while timing their route. Jefferson said it’s a great idea for his situation and he could see it sticking around post-pandemic as a way of staying competitive with his friends.
Harry Ewbank, a student at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), lost his job in a restaurant and won’t be able to use his tickets to the Euro 2020 games in Wembley, which have been moved to summer 2021. But he is getting his sports fix in different ways.
“I’m lucky enough to live in the English countryside and although I can’t make the most of the tourist spots around me there are plenty of places to walk and exercise and we have been pretty lucky that we have had almost no rain over the past two months,” Ewbank said. Ewbank said that he is exercising and playing sports whenever he can while also watching reruns of games and documentaries when they’re on TV.
“This pandemic is allowing families to bond in other ways that don’t pertain to sports and finding different avenues for emotional release.”
Jurrel Racine
Back in Connecticut, Jurrel Racine, a former high school and college athlete who is deeply interested in sports, has taken a positive view on the loss of sports.
“This pandemic is allowing families to bond in other ways that don’t pertain to sports and finding different avenues for emotional release,” Racine said.
Racine said he believes that the lack of sports on television does not appear to be affecting his community in a major way.
“There’s no professional team around so it hasn’t really appeared to be taking too much of a toll on people aside from general fans of sports who find it more of an inconvenience than anything else.”
Racine has chosen to get through this time by staying active mentally and physically.
“To remain mentally active, I try timed crossword puzzles, reading about things I’ve been curious about but never actually looked into more closely and watching videos on subjects that also pique my interest outside of the realm of sports,” Racine said.
“On the physical side, I do circuit-based workouts at home with dumbbells, an ab roller, weight vest, pull up bar, punching bag and mixed with various workout activities.”
He also chose to view a big topic in the sporting world, the cancellation of high school and college seasons, as a glass half full.
“High school and college athletes get to spend time with their families that they may not have been able to before,” Racine said. “It also allows for much-needed time to rest for all players in all sports.”
Racine, a former high school and collegiate athlete, said that the fatigue athletes face throughout the season is immense.
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Many whose livelihoods and futures depend on sports are dealing with setbacks, but they too are adjusting.
“It’s been a mixed bag,” Michael Madden, athletic director at Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury, Connecticut. “Kids are obviously disappointed that their seasons are decimated but I feel like they’re pulling together more than they normally would. The concept of team, holding each other accountable [has improved].”
With lost seasons, comes lost opportunities for recruiting that affect college programs but may affect high school athletes even more.
“We had a young lady who ran track and signed with Central to run for them,” Madden said. “She had an okay indoor season but due to an injury and losing her outdoor season, she and her family lost out on some money to help her through college. She signed for no money, just a guaranteed spot on the team but with an improved outdoor season, that could’ve helped her and her family.”
Kerri Reaves, Central Connecticut Women Basketball Interim Head, described recruiting as “the most important thing for a program.”
Reaves said she and her program have lost out on at least two major recruiting events so far due to the pandemic.
Despite that, they continue to adjust and recruit in other ways.
“I think this would have been a bigger deal 25 years ago, but with the technology now, these kids are able to stay in touch with college recruiters,” said Tom Pincince, the interim athletic director at Central Connecticut University.
Pincince is dealing with the pandemic on all fronts. He has daughters who are being homeschooled and can’t play sports anymore, a wife who works in a hospital and a job that is nonstop.
“At Central, we’re making sure our student-athletes are doing what they need to do academically, working on our budget, trying to work on planning stages for the future.”
Sports directors like Pincince and Madden are working nonstop behind the scenes to get the sports world back to normal as soon as possible.
“Some athletic directors have been laid off because they were seen as not needed anymore,” Madden said. “But there’s a lot to be done, we still have a fall season we are hoping that we play so to me, it seemed idiotic for those guys to be laid off with so much still left to do.”
Despite the work that is still being done, the athletic directors, like the fans, know that sports are just one part of life
“We survived a lot of bad things and we’re going to get through this as well,” Madden said. “I hope at the end of this, it puts everything in perspective for everyone. A bad call, a strike versus a ball, things like that are so small compared to the big picture.”
George Atwood from University of Central Lancashire also contributed interviews.