What are your thoughts on Covid-19 as an athlete?

Sophia Ucros:  “As an athlete […] you have to appreciate every game and or practice and put in 100% effort, because you don’t know when the season could unexpectedly end.”

Nathan Ju:   “Covid […] negatively affects every single player because everyone has to wear masks, which makes it harder to breathe.”

What are mental challenges you face as an athlete due to covid?

Sophia Ucros: “finding the motivation to do makeup training for missed practices and games that get cancelled, because every time something gets cancelled that’s less work I’m getting in.”

Nathan Ju: “Having restricted breathing [from masks] is a huge mental challenge for me as an athlete because [masks] it makes me become tired more easily.” 

With Covid-19 around, are you afraid of catching the virus? 

Sophia Ucros: “Yes, I am afraid of contracting the virus especially while playing sports because with soccer being an outdoor sport masks are not required so the risk can be higher at times.”

Nathan Ju: “Yes, I am very afraid of catching the virus.”

Has there been any significant changes during your games/practices? and if so how have these affected you?

Sophia Ucros: “With the major spikes of covid right now many people on the team are getting it or have to quarantine because of close contacts; this leaves us being too many players short to even play a game. Only about 9 players have shown up to each practice since back from break and 11 are needed.”

Nathan Ju- “Having to play knowing that Covid-19 can be anywhere impacts me a lot. Our practices and games seem a lot harder now because of mask restrictions [that cause] me to have a hard time breathing.”

What is your perspective on what’s going on with covid and its effects?

Coach Jonathan Watanabe: “Covid is spreading rapidly throughout our country and around the world. The full effects, both short term and long, at this time are not known.

What challenges are you dealing with as a coach due to covid, and what’re you doing to make them work?

Coach Watanabe: “We have been dealing with limiting activities, practices, and games to limit contact between our players. We have not been able to do our traditional team meals and outings. We have had to deal with multiple players being out for long periods of time, causing us to adjust from day to day. We have had to deal with the cancellation and rescheduling of games on a daily basis. We had to shut down all practices and games for two weeks to limit contact and reduce the number of cases in our program. We have had to continually remind players to put their masks back on during practices and games. We test weekly to try to keep everyone safe.