Strange times for first-year university student-athletes

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This article was published 12/11/2020 (2021 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Zoom calls, online classes and home workouts.

It’s not exactly what first-year university student-athletes pictured their freshman seasons would look like.

“It hasn’t been as bad as I thought, I guess, because I don’t really know what like, being a student-athlete is,” said University of Manitoba Bisons men’s basketball freshman guard Sam Jensen.

“All I’ve heard is what the other guys tell me about the social aspect of it and going to games and stuff like that. I don’t feel like I’ve missed out because I don’t know what it’s actually like. Obviously, the school stuff is frustrating. You can’t go to campus and feel a part of a university atmosphere. But yeah, I don’t feel I’ve missed out too much because I don’t know what I’m missing out on.”

Jensen and the rest of this year’s crop of young talent did, however, get a small taste of the U Sports athlete life. In code orange, teams were still able to train together as long as they followed appropriate guidelines. But with code red now in effect, all in-person team activities have been paused.

Luckily, this year’s Bisons and University of Winnipeg Wesmen rookies are a resilient group. After all, some of them are only months removed from being told they won’t get to compete for a provincial championship in their Grade 12 year. Jensen led Sturgeon Heights Collegiate’s varsity team to the No. 1 seed, but they didn’t get a chance to play for a banner as provincials were cancelled. First-year Bisons women’s basketball forward Izzy Marquez didn’t get a shot at a perfect high school sendoff either.

Marquez, an Oak Park High School product, was gunning for a second provincial title after winning the 2019 crown in Grade 11 alongside Lauren Bartlett and Emily Johnson. Bartlett and Johnson graduated after the championship run and played their rookie seasons for the Herd last year. Marquez was eager to follow in their footsteps and get the same experience. She might be wearing the same colours as them again, but the experience has been anything but similar.

“You could say it’s been tough, but more so it’s been different,” Marquez said.

“I’ve been trying to think about it in a positive way where we’re a unique class and we’re getting a totally different freshman experience from what everyone else got. You can spin it in a positive way.”

That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though.

“Honestly, it’s a struggle to always think positively that way. I can’t always say I’m thinking with this mindset,” said Marquez.

“But how I sort of got there was thinking where I could be and where I am now. I could be a normal student going through normal online classes, but I am a student-athlete. I have a group of friends that will always be there to support me through this thing. That’s how I got to looking at it positively.”

Volleyball players fresh out of high school feel a bit luckier as they were able to finish their senior seasons since provincials took place in December. Alex Krykewich, a setter for the Wesmen men’s volleyball team, capped off his Dakota Collegiate career last year with a provincial championship and a tournament MVP award. While Krykewich won’t have anything to compete for this December, he said it’s the fourth and fifth-year players that he feels for. U Sports athletes will not lose a year of eligibility, but many of them will have a choice to make next year.

“Obviously us first-year guys are really hungry and we want the opportunity to play and we haven’t experienced that yet, so it stings a bit for us. But I do really feel bad for the older guys because they’ve played out their careers and some of them are finishing their degrees this year and will be done with school for the program they’re in,” said Krykewich.

“It’s a big decision for them whether or not they want to come back next year and take more courses that are unnecessary for them at this point just to play volleyball. They’ve been there, they’ve experienced it, so it must really sting for them and I feel for them.”

But this year isn’t a writeoff by any means; Wesmen and Bisons teams are doing everything they can to welcome the newbies and build team chemistry. Over Zoom, the Wesmen women’s basketball squad will eat lunch together, split into smaller groups for team-building exercises, and they’re currently planning an online party for the team. Maltha Uwambajimana, a point guard out of Fort Richmond Collegiate, had wanted to play for the U of W since she attended a Wesmen game at the Duckworth Centre in Grade 8. Uwambajimana is going to have to wait a while before she’ll get to play her first game, but for now, freshmen like her are making the best out of bonding with teammates and coaches through a screen.

“I think it’s going to help us a lot. It really is. We’re all getting to know each other now. We know a couple of things about each other. We know what people like and don’t like,” Uwambajimana said.

“This constant connection and staying together is really going to help us when we get back to playing.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31