Before COVID-19 senior swimmer Rafael Rodriguez had a very tough schedule from 5 am workouts three days a week, to two and a half hour practices every weekday. But his rough schedule has become less demanding, to three days of Zoom dryland workouts and two days of cardio. Due to recent events of the Coronavirus (aka COVID-19), athletes have had to cut their training(s) short, which can affect their performance later on. Rodriguez expresses, “swimming was everything to me. Not only was it a way of staying active, [but] it [also] helped me relax and de-stress”. Student-athletes like Rodriguez sometimes use their sport as a way to get rid of everything going on for example school-related stress, and with that not being available it can be hard to cope. With that, COVID-19 has affected schools across the globe, and with sports being as well, there are many factors that are going to be missed. Rodriguez states, “the thing I miss the most about the sport is being able to exercise in water and not in the heat. As for school I miss being able to interact with the people in my classes”. Not being able to participate in the sport you love is difficult, as well, not being able to see your peers is disappointing too. In order to pass the time during quarantine, Rafael has been doing different activities such as drawing, playing basketball, and video games allowing him to stay entertained during the day. Student-athletes are affected greatly from COVID-19 and the cancellation of schools across the globe and having everything change such as their schedules, workouts, and other components, is difficult to get used to.

• Contributions also made by: Hanna Rojo (YB)