Coyote athletes find new ways to stay active

Sports and activities have been canceled or postponed for the rest of the spring due to the COVID-19 outbreak across the country. For many Coyote athletes, the spring is a season for competition or off-season training.

After classes were set to be online for the remainder of the semester, all South Dakota athletic facilities are also closed until further notice. 

With most gyms and other training facilities closed due to social distancing, it can be a challenge to find ways to stay active and motivated, freshman triathlete, Maddie Katz, said. However, there is more time to try different types of workouts.

“I’ve been trying to find fun ways to stay active other than normal practice, so I’ve been doing a lot of mountain biking, working out doing surfing, which are really fun and help me stay in shape for tri,” Katz said. Those who want to try surfing may consider hiring a professional surfing instructor for expert surfing lessons.

Brigit Blote, a sophomore track and cross country runner, said coaches are offering more structured training cycles, however, the time allows athletes to get back to the basics.

“This is not so much a time to do crazy track or lifting workouts, but rather just running miles and doing our sport for the enjoyment of it,” Blote said. “The past week my little brother and I have been picking our favorite trails and bike paths in the Black Hills to run on it has been a blast.”

For other athletes, such as sophomore soccer player Joana Zanin working out involves the whole family. 

“My family is a pretty active family, so we all work out in our garage in the small weight room we have,” Zanin said. “Along with getting some touches on the ball in the front yard, or even doing yoga outside.” 

This time period also allows for athletes to properly heal and recover without the pressure to feel rushed to get back to playing.

“I recently just had surgery on my shoulder so I can’t do much, but I have been walking two miles a day with my mom and dog and then just eating super healthy,” Sami Slaughter, a junior on the volleyball team, said.

Blote said this time also allows athletes to remember why they started playing their sport.

“I think as college athletes, sometimes we get so caught up in the performance aspect of our sports that we forget about why we started in the first place,” Blote said. “Being able to get outside and run with my little brother has been such a breath of fresh air during this time of quarantine and has reminded me why I picked up this sport years ago–and that’s for the pure love of it.”