Student-athletes stay active at home
Players struggle in the absence of school sports
Photo illustration by Jane Pupeza. Student athletes have turned to working out at home in order to stay active while winter sports are on hold.
December 14, 2020
Erin Brousseau, senior captain of the Hopkins/Park girls hockey team, said the postponement of winter sports is disappointing and that hockey is a fundamental part of winter in Minnesota.
“The winter months are a very special time,” Brousseau said. “There’s this camaraderie that in the winter, hockey is the thing to do in Minnesota. So it feels kind of weird not going to the rink every day.”
According to junior Ryan Rasmussen, a member of the gymnastics team, the absence of in-person athletics has forced her to find alternate approaches for exercise.
“(I’ve) been trying to do more in-home workouts so I can stay in shape for sports, so it’s not a big rush and it’s really hard when I come back,” Rasmussen said.
According to girls hockey coach Ryan St. Martin, players have created their own workout strategies.
“Some of (our players) are doing some things on their own, whether that’s strength training on their own or shooting pucks in their garages,” St. Martin said. “Some even have the ability to go and skate outside if they have a backyard rink, but there’s been far less being active than there would be in a normal year.”
St. Martin said that in a normal year, there are a lot more opportunities for players to practice but this year has been difficult for players.
“It’s a little bit challenging because they’re just not in the rhythm of things,” St. Martin said. “Everyone’s going to be starting to kind of build their base from ground zero so their endurance, their strength and even camaraderie on the team is going to start from ground zero.”
There are several other factors that impact student-athletes during this period, according to Rasmussen. For her, it’s hard to gather motivation for at-home workouts.
“A lot of people don’t have ways at home to stay active, and they don’t really know what to do because I know (for me) self-motivation is really hard to stay active,” Rasmussen said. “It’s hard because not a lot of people have the right equipment to actually stay active.”
According to Brousseau, practices provided a space for her to have fun with teammates and relieve stress and the absence of that is tough.
“What I miss most is being around that team environment and working towards a common goal together and just seeing my friends every day,” Brousseau said.
