Quaran-team: JM volleyball
Video and story by Nicolette Miller
The impact Covid-19 has had on fall sports is hard to miss. Athletes have been challenged with the unpredictability and possible disappointments of their seasons, and have been challenged to adapt accordingly by following safety protocols and finding ways to stay positive.
These troubling times have presented obstacles for athletes all around the state. Schools like Waterford, Fremont, Uintah, Kearns, and Judge Memorial have all faced the disappointment of interrupted, postponed, and even canceled seasons.
Region games, playoffs, and state tournaments for sports like football, volleyball, and basketball have been postponed or canceled due to positive Covid-19 tests from team members and coaches.
Our girls volleyball team at Judge Memorial was no exception.
Before the restrictions of the pandemic became our ‘normal,’ the summers preceding the fall volleyball season were filled with camps, open gyms, and team bonding. Incoming freshmen had the opportunity to meet other players, girls had time to get back into the swing of things after some time off, and coaches had the opportunity to establish fundamentals, expectations, and relationships. Covid-19 made all of this too much of a risk for the program.
“We didn’t play at all over the summer, we just came in a few weeks before our season started. At first I was a little stressed about our season being canceled...” said sophomore setter Klowie Pike.
Daily temperature checks, equipment sanitation, and wearing masks during practice helped us feel more comfortable and confident that we would get the senior season we’d all been waiting for, but less than a month in, a positive test result brought everything to a halt.
On the day of our first region game, my teammates and I feel victim to a positive covid test from one of our players. With the health of our players and coaches as our first priority, the decision was made to suspend practice and in-person learning for two weeks. Instead, my teammates and I attended “practices” via Zoom where we worked on maintaining positive mindsets, working out from home, journaling, and supporting one another.
I interviewed four of my teammates and our coach to reveal insight about the lockdown, the overall response, and advice for other athletes and coaches.
“My initial reaction was stress. Having two weeks of no volleyball and no leaving your house, that’s tough” said Klowie. “...even just forgetting about volleyball, being quarantined in general is rough...you’re kind of locked away from the world.”
After weeks of preparation for the first week of region games, our team was crushed by the disappointing news. We each had personal difficulties, but were all in agreement that we simply missed our teammates, our coaches, and our time playing together.
“I think the most difficult part was not being able to spend time with our team, and just losing everything we’d prepared for,” said senior Yesenia Andrade.
With guidance from our coach, Taylor Gustafson (JM, Class of 2014), our team reacted quickly. The night of the official news, we all joined a group FaceTime to talk through our initial stress and make a game plan. Zoom “practices” were held each day as a way for us to stay connected. We each took turns planning the activities for the day, and found that these meetings allowed us to stay active with team workouts, stay positive through communication and journaling, and ultimately support each other.
Sport and Performance Psychologist Nanaki Chadha relflected on the impact Covid-19 has had on every athlete. She says, “In sport psychology, we as practitioners often find ourselves reminding athletes to focus on things that they can control within their performance environment. Indeed, Michael Phelps echoed that: ‘Just control what you can control. We’re in such uncharted waters. We’re getting all these big questions thrown at us: What if? What if? What if? It’s so hard to understand. We’re having a hard time just wrapping our head around it.’”
Coach Gustafson had some similar advice to share, as she commented, “It’s just something that you can’t control, it’s a weird time. But, as a country, as a state, as a community of Judge, we’re gonna get through it.”
She commented, “I wanted to make sure that the time apart wasn’t actual time apart--that they were zooming, they were FaceTimeing, they were working together just as much as they would be if we were together as a team.”
These efforts to maintain our connectivity were key in maintaining our positivity. As our two weeks came to an end, being back in the gym wasn’t as much of a transition as many had expected, as our time “together” strengthened our bond both on and off the court.
Reflecting on the experience, my teammates shared some advice for teams who may be put in a similar situation as the year progresses. The words of encouragement included, “stay positive,” “support one another,” and, “come back stronger than you were before” This advice seems simple, and in reality, it was. Our idea of quarantine became “quaranteam” as our simple efforts made impactful differences on our mindsets, bond, and strength as a team.
