Everyone’s heard stories about being out of shape from being cooped up during quarantine. Today, The MoCo Student takes a look at how students have been staying in shape and forced to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.
For most athletes, the toughest times came early in the quarantine period. As the coronavirus pandemic stripped away access to common facilities and activities, students had to resort to new and innovative exercise methods.
Like many athletes, Rochambeau French International School senior Gavin Groves had a daily routine. As soon as he got out of school he would ride his bike over to LA Fitness on Rockville Pike. There, he would play hours of pickup basketball, then lift some weights, and sometimes, he would follow up by heading over to the local park and play some more basketball.
“All day at school I would look forward to playing at the gym, I couldn’t do any homework or do anything else without going to the gym first,” Groves said.
Once the pandemic hit, Groves and his family went to their cabin in the mountains to reduce the risk of them catching the virus. While there, Groves went on hikes but also did his best to incorporate his usual routine.
“My dad and I built a hoop together and then I nailed some wood boards together to make a court and a place to dribble,” Groves explained.
In the fall, Winston Churchill sophomore Cristina Franceschini always had soccer practice everyday after school. When that would end she would have club soccer practice most days, and on off days, she would hone her skills on her own. When schools closed, however, she was forced to find new ways to condition herself through the uncertain times.
“I would go on runs and juggle a lot, more than I did before,” Franceschini said.
Besides the basics of cardio and juggling the ball, she also tried to find other practice methods to work on other skills.
“Me and a group of friends would get together or I would play with my Dad to help me work on other skills I couldn’t practice on my own,” Franceshini added.
Walter Johnson junior Graham Rogers is a varsity athlete in both swimming and lacrosse. Rogers was supposed to start as a sophomore on the varsity lacrosse team, and while he was disappointed when the season was cancelled, he didn’t let it discourage him and found ways to keep himself ready.
“There wasn’t really a pool available for me and the only things I could practice for lacrosse was shooting, so I had to work on my skill and endurance in other ways,” Rogers said.
“I started going on a lot more bike rides and runs, I had never really run before outside of school on my own,” he added, “It taught me self-motivation and discipline.”
While the coronavirus certainly took away a lot of athletic opportunities for athletes, many found unique and innovative methods to keep themselves in shape, in hopes of an upcoming sports season. Only time will tell when we will truly return to a normality.
Article by Jackson Buss of Walter Johnson High School.
Graphic by Xiomara Choque of Montgomery College.