Unification fills the air as sports teams come together during COVID-19

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Photo contributed by Jane Lukens ’20

The girls’ lacrosse team gathered on Zoom on April 2 to catch up and share what they’ve been doing during this unprecedented time. The team meeting was led by the three captains: Kyle Kirby ’20, Kathleen Cozzi ’20 and Jane Lukens ’20.

As the flowers blossom and Westporters come out of hibernation, spring sports teams start and highschoolers get a rush of excitement to embark on their sports. But for the student-athletes this year, this excitement was taken away very shortly due to COVID-19.

Despite the teams not being together, sports teams from all seasons have come together, continuing to bond and keep their unification. There have been a variety of actions taken by teams, whether that is checking in through text or setting up Zoom calls for the team to share their quarantine experiences. 

Although it has been hard that the baseball team has not been able to be together physically during this time, they are doing the best to social distance while still supporting each other. 

“They closed all the fields so it’s a lot harder to meet up,” Alex Deutsch ’21 said. “But, we’ve been trying to stay in contact with each other, and we try to throw together when we can.” 

The team has been staying in contact virtually. The captains have been reaching out to the players and texting in the group chat, making sure everyone is doing okay. 

The girls’ lacrosse team has been taking a similar approach to this quarantine time. Kathleen Cozzi ’20, alongside her co-captains Jane Lukens ’20 and Kyle Kirby ’20, organized a Zoom call for the team, making sure that everyone was staying sane. 

“As captains,” Cozzi said, “we’ve tried to keep everyone connected by doing team Zooms to check in on how everyone is preparing for the potential season.” 

To keep the team in shape, their head coach, Nicole Gerosa, has been posting workouts on their social media accounts so the team can continue to stay in shape while staying at home.

“As a lacrosse team, it has been super sad that our season, for now, is delayed,” Jess Leon ’22 said. “We all look forward to the season all year and with all the crazy going on in the world none of us expected any of this. On the bright side, as a team we all Zoomed. This was a great way to catch up with everybody and to simply know that we’re all in it together.” 

Although field hockey and football seasons weren’t cancelled, these teams are continuing their bond from the fall season and showing their support for each other. 

The field hockey team made a team Tik Tok, which is a compilation of videos. Each girl on the team passed the ball from one person to the next virtually.

 “I think the video showed that during times like these, the team can still come together and do something together that would make us happy,” Erica Fanning ’20 said. “It shows that we are all mentally and emotionally there for each other.”

The football team has been very supportive to each other as well. One of the upcoming captains for the 2020 season, Henry Beck ’21, explained what the captains and teammates have been doing to be there for each other. 

“Our main goal is building a brotherhood,” Beck said. “We have been doing an amazing job of that.” 

As captain, Beck has been trying to reinstall a positive mindset to all of his teammates, so their hard current situation can be better.

During hard times, specifically during COVID-19, the support and unification of special groups of people shine through. 

“Our close relationships have carried over these past few months,” Fanning said. “It is being highlighted during a very hard time for all of us.”