By Paityn Tabor ’23
Managing Editor and Sports Editor
taborpn@lakeforest.edu
The rise of COVID-19 and the contagious Omicron variant affected the lives and holiday seasons of individuals across the globe. While the majority of our campus was able to spend the break celebrating the holidays with friends and family, many student athletes remained in season, thus staying on campus for the majority of the break.
In particular, the spread of the Omicron variant made the seasons of winter sports teams here at the College especially challenging. Many were forced to combat both positive COVID-19 tests and the cancelation and postponement of contests.
“We have had several positive COVID-19 cases, as well as close contacts, that prevented us from being at full strength,” explained Katie Neher ’23, who is a member of the women’s basketball team. “We have had multiple conference and tournament games be postponed, which disrupted the flow of the season.”
When a player tests positive for COVID-19, coaches face the pressure of thinking on their feet and adapting extremely quickly in order to ensure the success of their team. Often, this means readjusting their strategy or game plan in order to optimize the performance of their players.
“We have used the ‘next man up’ mentality,” explained head men’s basketball coach Ryan Davis. “In the long run, it has forced other players to play more minutes and should help our overall depth moving forward. Depending on who has been out, we have had to change some of our offensive and defensive concepts to put our players in the best position to succeed.”
Additionally, due to the contagious variant, the College has reinstated a spectator policy at home contests. This policy allows four guests per player to be present at the game. While this is meant to keep all athletes, coaches, and spectators safe, it has also limited the impact that our Forester fans have on home contests and cuts down the advantages of playing at home.
“The updated spectator policy has definitely affected our home ice advantage,” recalled David Cohen ’23, who is a member of the men’s hockey team. “It is still great to play at home, but when we have the football team chanting loudly for us and the stands full, it is a huge motivator for the guys. It is still nice that we have some spectators, but the rink does not get as loud as we are used to.”
Even though the spectator policy has limited the amount of fans at contests, teams have generated their own energy and momentum in order to feed off one another and win games. The Omicron variant poses many uncertainties for teams each week, so athletes and coaches have worked to remain strong in the face of this adversity. They found that in order to be successful they must work together as one unified group to combat any challenge that comes their way.
“We have been really supportive of each other,” said women’s hockey captain, Rose Sperry ’22. “When someone has COVID-19, we have done a great job at making sure we are there for each other, whether it is FaceTiming teammates or dropping off care packages.”
This powerful sense of togetherness is something that has propelled our sports teams to succeed throughout the pandemic. No matter what challenges come their way, the determination of our athletes to remain united has made them stronger. They have grown adept at being able to look adversity in the face and continue to shine, harnessing an invaluable skill that will hopefully remain for years to come.
