Perspective in Times of Devastation

Hello, Augie bloggers. One week ago today the NCAA officially cancelled all remaining play for 2020 Spring and Winter sports. While this is a small tragedy in the grand scheme of devastation caused by COVID 19, it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking or gut-wrenching to the players, coaches, support teams, and families directly impacted by this decision. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears that goes into preparing for season is far beyond the daily physical and mental grind we all sign up for. Every year, every group of girls, and every grind is different. The one constant that remained true for me during my four years at Fordham was the fact that each group of girls became family. We got through the mountains and valleys of season so we could uphold the Fordham legacy together in May. And to not be able to do that with these girls in, potentially, my last season makes my heart ache in pain.

Unfortunately this is the reality for me and tens of thousands of other athletes and we cannot control it. Global health is, and should be, top priority. So while it is easy to mope and fall into a woe is me mentality I am choosing to use this post as a way to explain my view on the one positive thing that has come from all of this: perspective. Often times we take things we love and care about for granted. COVID 19 has slapped us in the face with the sad reality that at any moment the things or people you love can be taken away from you. Here are 3 things, from an athletes’ perspective, that should never be taken for granted ever again:

1. Game Day

This seems so obvious, I know. But we’ve all been there when the night game finishes two hours late, it’s 35 degrees and windy, and to top it off we have to be up at 6:00 AM for a double-header. This was actually part of the scenario for what I had no idea would be my last game day of the season. We didn’t have the late night game but we were up super early on the third day of the weekend (fellow softballers we all know Sundays in preseason are a grind). And don’t get me wrong, it would be unnatural to be all sunshine and rainbows with no complaints. But I would literally sell my kidney if that meant I got to be on the field playing with those girls right now. That might be a little exaggerated but you get my point. Going into every game with the mentality of “if this was my last game ever, would I be satisfied?”. Because while we cannot control freak injuries or pandemics we can control our attitude and our effort. Making sure you do everything you can to appreciate where you are and make the most of it regardless of how you are doing statistically, because what you do individually means nothing if you aren’t doing everything else behind the scenes to elevate your team to the next level. Do you think people will care about my batting average or ERA 5 years from now? No. They’ll salute the ice on my fingers(aka my three A10 rings) and what I accomplished alongside my teammates.

2. Weights and Conditioning

We were going through security at John F. Kennedy airport at around 11:15 AM when the news broke that preseason play had been suspended due to the COVID 19 outbreak. We sat at baggage claim for over an hour, dispersed, and met up again at 5:00 PM on the bleachers of Rose Hill Gym to be told our season was cancelled. Through all of that I had maintained composure. A couple tears in the airport but that was it. It wasn’t until our strength trainer, Josh, told us we were welcome to come in and lift the following day that my heart felt like it stopped inside my chest. And some of you might think I’m weird or crazy that that sentence is what hit home the hardest. Who cares about weights or wants to run a Liverpool, right? But that weight room is where we become a family, where the selfishness subsides and selflessness steps in. We learn to fail and rise above it together in that room. And the thought of never again having my teammates screaming at me and cheering me on to beat my Hang Clean max or have Josh yell at us to get lower on squats when our butts are touching the floor made me lose it. Competing with each other and making each other better day in and day out in that room is something I took for granted. I never thought of it as something I would miss most. Josh and the high standard he has for us is at the core of what sets our mentality away from the rest and is an essential part of what is so beautiful about Fordham softball. So never wish away a 6:00 AM lift or an outside conditioning session in the cold rain. It’s a privilege.

3. Cafe Dates

Cafe dates consist of the majority of the team and last no less than an hour. They are filled with a whole lot of ridiculous conversations, laughs, and recaps of crazy things that happened that weekend or during that particular day. Cafe dates might be specific to Fordham but any team at any school can and should learn to appreciate their teammates and the time they have with them more. Because they are more than just teammates. All of my closest friends are current or past Rammies. It’s easy to say that you spend so much time with each other that space is what’s needed. I say wrong. You only get a short amount of time with them and you should make the most of it. They won’t be down the hall or a dorm over from you forever. Spend that extra five minutes in the locker room while your two teammates show off their new dance moves. Go out to dinner with the freshman you barely know anything about and enjoy each other’s company. Sit next to someone at the airport rather than putting your headphones in and cancelling out the world. Because all of these opportunities go away faster than you’d think. I will always be the first to tell you that I am not good at expressing emotion or expressing how much the people I care about mean to me and that is one thing I would definitely do a better job of if I am blessed enough to get to go back for a last year of eligibility.

Those are three of the hundreds of things that this devastating time has given me perspective on and I hope there is at least one thing that can help anyone who has read this. In regards to future posts, if any one has topics they want to be discussed or tips they want to hear about please write in the comments. Since season has been cut short I am going to run out of ideas to talk about. Thanks for reading! That is all the Augie tea we have for today. Until next time.