Sports and Physical Activity During Quarantine

Obviously, this current period of our lives is defined by the changes coronavirus has caused. The elimination of public activities and events have made it very hard for us, as a community, to do the things we love. For us high school students, one especially notable example of a sudden absence in our lives is, of course, sports.

As an athlete myself, I have found it rather difficult to change how I practice soccer to accommodate to my new circumstances. Since practices are canceled until further notice, I have to find new ways to remain in shape and prepare for the soccer season that I hope to compete in next fall. The good news is that, as I learn these new methods to continue training and practicing while still obeying social distancing, they’ve had a major impact on my ability to keep in shape at home.

While I have found a variety of ways to practice soccer at home, my coach has also sponsored some practices through everyone’s new favorite app, Zoom. I have to imagine most of you are aware of this app, given that teachers have been using it to set up meetings with students since we closed down for the semester. My coach has created something like a training routine with this app, setting up virtual practices twice a week. Since we have not been able to actually practice with a soccer ball, our coach does workouts with us, which not only helps us prepare and maintain our physical performance, but also gives us something to stay active during these uncertain times. Working out and practicing at home alone gets very repetitive at times, which makes it very hard to continue with my daily routine, so adding in this exercise a few times a week gives me something other than what I already do at home to help me stay in shape.

While these new Zoom calls have allowed me to do something fresh and different during quarantine, these are only a few times a week, so I have found still other ways to continue exercising. For example, I have found certain new ball work drills I can do in my backyard when I’m not doing virtual workouts with our coach. While practicing in my yard is, of course, not the most ideal thing compared to the turf I usually play on, it gives me something else to work on. With three brothers at home and a few soccer balls, we have all found new games and drills we can do together, which ultimately helps improve all our skills.

All of these new methods which I have found have given me the opportunity for physical activity while I am stuck at home. Instead of sitting home, waiting for practice to start in the summer, Zoom calls with my team and drilling at home provides me with some solid work for the offseason. Hopefully, these difficult times can end soon, so we can get back to work, school, sports, and all the other activities that we as a community love.

I hope that I can get back on the field soon and practice with my team, who are almost like family at this point, and we’ll aim for a “real” sectional title this upcoming year. Go Knights!