The idea of playing collegiate sports during a pandemic may seem unorthodox to some but to the athletes, this is more than just a hobby. Student athletes at Averett are willing to go the extra mile to play the sports they love by abiding by all the Covid-19 protocols and getting tested for the virus every week.

Some of the precautions that will allow athletes to play their respective sports require washing hands constantly, staying 6 feet apart from one another, and keeping away from densely populated areas. These are just a few things that student athletes have to do to play the sports they love.

“With the rise of Covid-19, as athletes we have to wear masks and make sure our Live Safe’s are complete before we head to our facilities,” Aaron Pace, a senior criminal justice major, said.

These methods have shown to work so far as student athletes are currently able to play sports even with the limited to no capacity of fans. The process that athletes go through shows exactly how dedicated they are to their respective sport.

“It comes down to how bad you really want to play and if you want to play that bad then you will do the right things socially and keep yourself distanced from other people except for the people that you are around all the time like your roommates and teammates,” Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Paul Wiles said.

With the ongoing battle against Covid-19, student athletes must stay well prepared for upcoming interactions with other schools as they may or may not follow the same strict protocols like the ones that are in place here at Averett.

Through perseverance and following directions student athletes should be able to thrive in the classroom while also being able to enjoy playing sports throughout this pandemic.