{"id":14300,"date":"2021-03-16T08:20:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T12:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=14300"},"modified":"2025-05-06T08:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:38:44","slug":"athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/athletics\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletics Return as Hornets Accept Pandemic’s Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Leah
Leah Tardiff ’21 is one of seven seniors on the Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse team this spring. The Hornets are happy athletics have returned.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roommates Leah Tardiff \u201921 and Rachel Madar \u201921 felt they lost something important when their Kalamazoo College women\u2019s lacrosse<\/a> season was cut short last spring by COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe identify with being an athlete at K, so having that abruptly taken away was really hard,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cAnd then not knowing when it would ever come back was really challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

All 18 teams across K\u2019s athletics programs have been affected by the pandemic in the past year. Team-building opportunities, practices, games and seasons were lost.<\/p>\n

Tardiff is also a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee<\/a> (SAAC). As a board member, she was a liaison between the student-athletes and the Athletic Department as athletes grew increasingly frustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Athletic Department’s aim is to have students compete, but they did not feel comfortable allowing that to happen given the risk of infection that students would be exposed to,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cIt was very hard to be the bridge between athletes and the Athletic Department during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

SAAC kept student-athletes engaged with cooking shows featuring coaches and members of the Athletic Department, a website featuring athlete workout videos<\/a> for Kalamazoo Public Schools students, and sharing letters with senior citizens through their residential facilities.<\/p>\n

\"Athletics
Rachel Madar is among the Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse team members happy that athletics have returned to K. The Hornets have started their season 3-2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yet a talented roster of student-athletes in 2020 represented what might\u2019ve been the best women\u2019s lacrosse team K\u2019s program had ever fielded. That loss, coupled with losing 2021 season preparations last fall, made being on the sidelines even more difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s usually around 16 days of practices in fall ball, so it wasn\u2019t the end of the world,\u201d Madar said. \u201cYet it was also hard because fall is when we form relationships with the incoming students, so we were losing more than just practice time. We were losing those relationships and the team chemistry that would carry over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless, athletics have returned just in time for the Hornets to feature seven seniors, including Tardiff and Madar, and a full slate of games. They believe they are not only competitive, but capable of winning the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association<\/a> (MIAA) championship for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe preseason coaches rankings don\u2019t mean anything, but Adrian was ranked ahead of us, and we just beat them 14-3,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cWe’ve always been up there in the standings, but we’ve never been able to beat Calvin or Hope, a couple of those top-tier teams. This year, when we look at our roster, we think we really have a great chance of winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the interview, the women\u2019s lacrosse team beat Calvin 14-13 in double overtime with Madar scoring the game-winning goal, and defeated Albion 13-9, before losing at St. Mary\u2019s, 14-13 in overtime and Trine 15-13, to start the season 3-2. Madar tied her own school record with nine goals in the loss to St. Mary’s.<\/p>\n

The journey to get athletics restarted was tough for Madar, but unquestionably worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had so many letdowns between lacrosse being shut down in the middle of our season last year, and then having our in-person classes with our favorite professors getting shut down, I was personally a little hesitant because it\u2019s hard to fully commit to something when it could be shut down,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are teams and other leagues that aren’t playing again this year. But just getting back on the field, you realize how much you\u2019ve missed it and how much you love it. It\u2019s all worked out well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their story is similar to many of those you will hear in the Kalamazoo College Athletics<\/a> Department this year. Athletes are competing while wearing masks. There are limited spectators in the stands, if any, and athletes need to undergo COVID-19 testing at least three times a week, four times if they\u2019re chosen for random testing within the general student population. Yet from the student-athletes all the way to Athletic Director Becky Hall, K Hornets agree: their challenges are happily accepted regardless of the restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have tremendous respect for Becky Hall for carefully laying out plans to protect student-athletes and still make us feel hopeful that our seasons would return for the spring,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cBecky, the athletic trainers, the coaches and\u00a0the entire Athletic Department have\u00a0created a safe way for us to compete, despite the immense challenges they faced. I’m very grateful that they’ve worked so hard to give us this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A New Level of Gratitude\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Athletics
Kalamazoo College Athletics Director Becky Hall: \u201cI believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Athletic Director Becky Hall was always confident K was doing the right thing by shutting down athletics in spring and continuing the layover in fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we continue to put the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff at the forefront of all decision making, then I\u2019m comfortable with the decisions we\u2019re making at the end of the day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Still, Hall was as frustrated as anyone when intercollegiate sports competitions and even practices weren\u2019t available, especially considering that about 24 percent of K\u2019s students participate in athletics.<\/p>\n

\u201cEight of our sister schools were all doing something, whether they were competing or just getting together in practices with their teams and getting in the gym,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t able to do any of that. We couldn\u2019t get on the courts, courses and fields at all in the fall term, even when we had such a large percentage of our student-athletes living in the area, so there were a lot of hard feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, she said the hiatus has created a new level of gratitude for and dedication to athletics competition at K.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here,\u201d Hall said. \u201cAnd once we knew we were a go for January, February and beyond, we developed a newfound level of joy. Nobody likes getting their nose swabbed, and we\u2019ve got seven teams doing that right now in order to be on the court and their fields\u2014that says something about their level of dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allowing fall sports to compete in spring will provide additional logistical challenges for Hall and her staff, although she\u2019s not concerned about students complying with restrictions or finite facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we watched the COVID case numbers grow across the country in 2020, my coaches and I had enough conversations I think we all knew it was possible that we wouldn\u2019t have fall sports,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWhen the email announcement came out saying that we were going all virtual, there was disappointment, but we also understood we could possibly push fall sports to the spring. It was something we knew we could look forward to if we were going to take that route and we decided to do so fairly quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall knows Michigan could never guarantee that COVID-19 infections won\u2019t spike again, prompting another delay in athletics. Regardless, she has faith that state and College leaders do what\u2019s required to keep her athletes safe while maintaining proper protections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we all hold our breath when the governor says something that might affect what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Hall said. \u201cBut I appreciate not only the leadership of our governor, but also of our college president and provost who\u2019ve helped us reach some of the decisions we have. Now is not the time to take our foot off the accelerator. We\u2019ve got to stay the course to get the numbers down to get us closer to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018An Opportunity to Grow\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Athletics
With the return of Kalamazoo College athletics, Football Coach Jamie Zorbo will guide his Hornets through a season in spring. Zorbo is pictured during the 2019 season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Football Coach Jamie Zorbo\u2019s team is one of the squads getting used to the idea of shifting from fall competitions to spring. Others include cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball.<\/p>\n

MIAA football teams, for example, rarely have to deal with sub-freezing temperatures considering they typically begin practice in summer and compete in the early fall. However, the change meant the Hornets started practicing during the coldest days of Kalamazoo\u2019s winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to remind ourselves that when things are tough, we’re doing this for the kids and particularly our seniors,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cThey deserve a chance to play and finish out their careers here. That’s immediately where my mind went when I heard we would play this spring. I was just excited for them, and they were just excited to be out there playing the game again.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was difficult for Zorbo, his coaching staff and his athletes to know in summer that there would be no football in fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaches are creatures of habit and we can get into a routine every fall that we\u2019re used to,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cYou get really busy and it’s always an exciting time of year. It took me a while to kind of get used to not having football and going through the schedule I’m used to that time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good news is he stayed busy in other ways with regard to recruiting, advising, and being more present with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to experience some of the things with my family that I don’t typically get to do during the fall, which was a blessing,\u201d he said. \u201cInitially, it was really tough without football, but I found other ways to stay active and engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

K football-related Twitter accounts such as @KzooFootball<\/a>; @CoachZorboKZOO<\/a>; and @WhoisCoachJones, belonging to Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Eugene Jones IV, reveal how coaches have been dedicated to college football in general, recruiting and the K community. Regular posts have shown admission application deadlines, birthday wishes for current players, stories highlighting K\u2019s academic excellence and virtual recruiting trips to about 15 states since last spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to try to find new ways of giving our prospective students an opportunity to learn every aspect of our program and the college while they get a chance to interact with our current players,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to re-create virtually elements of the things that have been and continue to be important in our recruiting process. We all viewed it as an opportunity to grow and change the way we do some things for years to come, even when COVID isn’t a threat anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Grateful to be Together\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Softball
An athletics shutdown caused by COVID-19 forced the Kalamazoo College softball team to miss out on all but two games of its 2020 season. Duimstra is pictured during an early-season practice last year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Compare Zorbo\u2019s coaching realities with those of Softball Coach Kelli Duimstra, whose team lost nearly their entire season just two games into last spring without an opportunity to simply reschedule later in the academic year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was actually pretty devastating for the players, especially our two seniors,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cI think both were going to have their best seasons at K and I think our team was poised to be very strong. It was heartbreaking for us for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duimstra didn\u2019t want to let her team just leave K without a last chance to connect and talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a sit-down meeting to let the team express their emotions,\u201d she said. \u201cWe talked about how this was certainly nothing that they had ever been through. Having your entire season canceled? That just doesn’t happen. But then we talked about our place in this pandemic. I stressed that this was obviously something that we don’t want to happen because we want to play. At the same time, we have to do our part to mitigate the spread. And if our part means that we don’t get to play games, then we know we’re going to do what\u2019s best for the greater good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even then, Duimstra wanted her team to connect in ways that could help them while going nearly a full year without in-person interaction as a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a season, we’re allowed a certain number of weeks when we can practice and play games, so we had a bunch of weeks leftover,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cWe met virtually as a team and I ran through some ideas about what we could do to keep our team together. We watched the two games that we were able to play. We read a book together as a team. We did weekly meetings so our players could get to know their teammates better. These were opportunities to share some intel about what we like to do and why. We couldn’t be together to work on our skills on the field, but we could work to grow as a team. I hope that will help us on the field down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duimstra also conducted virtual recruiting visits through Zoom with on-campus tours suspended. Now, however, the wait for another season is about over as practices have restarted. After a gradual phase-in period that began with players only using their own equipment and not playing catch, the Hornets are poised for an all-MIAA season scheduled to begin March 23 with a doubleheader at Hope College.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re relieved and grateful that we get to be together,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to put last season in in the rearview mirror. At the same time, we know this can get taken away from us at any moment so we need to appreciate every day we have. We have a very strong conference in softball and there won\u2019t be any off days. That will definitely be a challenge, but I know this team is up to it. They want to be the ones that turn this program in the right direction, so they’re committed and I’m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We Love to See Them Compete\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Athletic
Athletic Trainer Kathleen White<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

K Head Athletic Trainer Kathleen White, as a medical professional, started to get nervous about COVID-19 earlier than most people did.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started having conversations very early because we were abreast of the situation going on outside the U.S.,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it started creeping over here, we took precautions as much as we could before we knew that a shutdown was going to be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

That led to careful planning, meticulous research and thoughtful collaboration, not only between colleagues at K, but between Michigan institutions and around the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had months of figuring out what was going on with the MIAA,\u201d White said. \u201cWe would also meet as an institution, as a department and as a league, and the NCAA had meetings trying to figure out was safe. Things were constantly changing and evolving. We then had to wait to see what the numbers were going to be to see what our policies needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

White now tests up to 350 students a week for COVID-19. That alone would pack her schedule, but there\u2019s so much more to ensuring that sports can continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose tests are just so we can get practices going,\u201d White said. \u201cWe’ll get teams starting on the fields at 4 p.m. and some of our teams don’t stop until probably about 1 a.m., so the only time the training room isn\u2019t open is from about 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. We also contact trace our athletes\u2019 situations, handle our COVID isolation and quarantine situations, and perform the daily testing for them, while doing all our normal athletic training duties on top of all the COVID duties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, White didn\u2019t describe her recent efforts as hectic or stressful. Her mind is focused more on the athletes and the opportunities they\u2019ll have.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s definitely exciting because it’s worth it,\u201d White said. \u201cWe live for being able to give our student-athletes their experiences. We love to see them compete and we want to see them grow, not only as athletes but individuals and students. It\u2019s not only for them physically, but for their mental health as well. Sports have really been something that some students need to get through this difficult time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we had the first basketball game the medical staff just kind of looked at each other and was like, \u2018Wow, that’s awesome. We did it,\u2019\u201d she added. \u201cGetting to the first practices was a big accomplishment. Getting through the first couple of weeks of practices was huge. And then making it to the first games, it\u2019s exciting and it’s rewarding for all the work we’ve put in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roommates Leah Tardiff \u201921 and Rachel Madar \u201921 felt they lost something important when their Kalamazoo College women\u2019s lacrosse season was cut short last spring by COVID-19. \u201cWe identify with being an athlete at K, so having that abruptly taken away was really hard,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cAnd then not knowing when it would ever come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":14321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[235],"tags":[36],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-14300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-institutional-announcements","tag-athletics"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAthletics Are Back: Hornets Accept Safety Challenges - News and Events<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kalamazoo College student-athletes, coaches and staff are excited to have athletics back after the 2020 shutdown that forced the Hornets to the sidelines.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/athletics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Athletics Return as Hornets Accept Pandemic's Challenges\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kalamazoo College student-athletes, coaches and staff are excited to have athletics back after the 2020 shutdown that forced the Hornets to the sidelines.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/athletics\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News and Events\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KalamazooCollege\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-16T12:20:46+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T12:38:44+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/Rachel-Madar_FB.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1937\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1089\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Brown\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Athletics Return as Hornets Accept Pandemic's Challenges\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kcollege\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Brown\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/athletics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/athletics\/\",\"name\":\"Athletics Are Back: Hornets Accept Safety Challenges - 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The Hornets are happy athletics have returned.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Roommates Leah Tardiff \u201921 and Rachel Madar \u201921 felt they lost something important when their <a href=\"https:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/sports\/wlax\/index\">Kalamazoo College women\u2019s lacrosse<\/a> season was cut short last spring by COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe identify with being an athlete at K, so having that abruptly taken away was really hard,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cAnd then not knowing when it would ever come back was really challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All 18 teams across K\u2019s athletics programs have been affected by the pandemic in the past year. Team-building opportunities, practices, games and seasons were lost.<\/p>\n<p>Tardiff is also a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/information\/saac\/index\">Student Athletic Advisory Committee<\/a> (SAAC). As a board member, she was a liaison between the student-athletes and the Athletic Department as athletes grew increasingly frustrated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Athletic Department’s aim is to have students compete, but they did not feel comfortable allowing that to happen given the risk of infection that students would be exposed to,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cIt was very hard to be the bridge between athletes and the Athletic Department during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SAAC kept student-athletes engaged with cooking shows featuring coaches and members of the Athletic Department, a website featuring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/stay-active\/\">athlete workout videos<\/a> for Kalamazoo Public Schools students, and sharing letters with senior citizens through their residential facilities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14307\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14307\" style=\"width: 366px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-14307\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/Athletics-Returns-for-Rachel-Madar-600x791.jpg\" alt=\"Athletics Returns for Rachel Madar\" width=\"366\" height=\"481\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14307\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Madar is among the Kalamazoo College women’s lacrosse team members happy that athletics have returned to K. The Hornets have started their season 3-2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yet a talented roster of student-athletes in 2020 represented what might\u2019ve been the best women\u2019s lacrosse team K\u2019s program had ever fielded. That loss, coupled with losing 2021 season preparations last fall, made being on the sidelines even more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s usually around 16 days of practices in fall ball, so it wasn\u2019t the end of the world,\u201d Madar said. \u201cYet it was also hard because fall is when we form relationships with the incoming students, so we were losing more than just practice time. We were losing those relationships and the team chemistry that would carry over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, athletics have returned just in time for the Hornets to feature seven seniors, including Tardiff and Madar, and a full slate of games. They believe they are not only competitive, but capable of winning the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miaa.org\/landing\/index\">Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association<\/a> (MIAA) championship for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe preseason coaches rankings don\u2019t mean anything, but Adrian was ranked ahead of us, and we just beat them 14-3,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cWe’ve always been up there in the standings, but we’ve never been able to beat Calvin or Hope, a couple of those top-tier teams. This year, when we look at our roster, we think we really have a great chance of winning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the interview, the women\u2019s lacrosse team beat Calvin 14-13 in double overtime with Madar scoring the game-winning goal, and defeated Albion 13-9, before losing at St. Mary\u2019s, 14-13 in overtime and Trine 15-13, to start the season 3-2. Madar tied her own school record with nine goals in the loss to St. Mary’s.<\/p>\n<p>The journey to get athletics restarted was tough for Madar, but unquestionably worth it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had so many letdowns between lacrosse being shut down in the middle of our season last year, and then having our in-person classes with our favorite professors getting shut down, I was personally a little hesitant because it\u2019s hard to fully commit to something when it could be shut down,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are teams and other leagues that aren’t playing again this year. But just getting back on the field, you realize how much you\u2019ve missed it and how much you love it. It\u2019s all worked out well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their story is similar to many of those you will hear in the <a href=\"https:\/\/hornets.kzoo.edu\/landing\/index\">Kalamazoo College Athletics<\/a> Department this year. Athletes are competing while wearing masks. There are limited spectators in the stands, if any, and athletes need to undergo COVID-19 testing at least three times a week, four times if they\u2019re chosen for random testing within the general student population. Yet from the student-athletes all the way to Athletic Director Becky Hall, K Hornets agree: their challenges are happily accepted regardless of the restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have tremendous respect for Becky Hall for carefully laying out plans to protect student-athletes and still make us feel hopeful that our seasons would return for the spring,\u201d Tardiff said. \u201cBecky, the athletic trainers, the coaches and\u00a0the entire Athletic Department have\u00a0created a safe way for us to compete, despite the immense challenges they faced. I’m very grateful that they’ve worked so hard to give us this season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018A New Level of Gratitude\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14310\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14310\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-14310 size-medium\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/Athletics-Director-Becky-Hall-300x450.jpg\" alt=\"Athletics Director Becky Hall\" width=\"300\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kalamazoo College Athletics Director Becky Hall: \u201cI believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Athletic Director Becky Hall was always confident K was doing the right thing by shutting down athletics in spring and continuing the layover in fall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as we continue to put the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff at the forefront of all decision making, then I\u2019m comfortable with the decisions we\u2019re making at the end of the day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Hall was as frustrated as anyone when intercollegiate sports competitions and even practices weren\u2019t available, especially considering that about 24 percent of K\u2019s students participate in athletics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight of our sister schools were all doing something, whether they were competing or just getting together in practices with their teams and getting in the gym,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t able to do any of that. We couldn\u2019t get on the courts, courses and fields at all in the fall term, even when we had such a large percentage of our student-athletes living in the area, so there were a lot of hard feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, she said the hiatus has created a new level of gratitude for and dedication to athletics competition at K.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe we all have a newfound respect and appreciation for athletics because it took us such a long time to get here,\u201d Hall said. \u201cAnd once we knew we were a go for January, February and beyond, we developed a newfound level of joy. Nobody likes getting their nose swabbed, and we\u2019ve got seven teams doing that right now in order to be on the court and their fields\u2014that says something about their level of dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allowing fall sports to compete in spring will provide additional logistical challenges for Hall and her staff, although she\u2019s not concerned about students complying with restrictions or finite facilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we watched the COVID case numbers grow across the country in 2020, my coaches and I had enough conversations I think we all knew it was possible that we wouldn\u2019t have fall sports,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWhen the email announcement came out saying that we were going all virtual, there was disappointment, but we also understood we could possibly push fall sports to the spring. It was something we knew we could look forward to if we were going to take that route and we decided to do so fairly quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hall knows Michigan could never guarantee that COVID-19 infections won\u2019t spike again, prompting another delay in athletics. Regardless, she has faith that state and College leaders do what\u2019s required to keep her athletes safe while maintaining proper protections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we all hold our breath when the governor says something that might affect what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Hall said. \u201cBut I appreciate not only the leadership of our governor, but also of our college president and provost who\u2019ve helped us reach some of the decisions we have. Now is not the time to take our foot off the accelerator. We\u2019ve got to stay the course to get the numbers down to get us closer to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018An Opportunity to Grow\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14313\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14313\" style=\"width: 457px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-14313 \" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/Athletics-Returns-for-Football-Coach-Jamie-Zorbo-600x434.jpg\" alt=\"Athletics Returns for Football Coach Jamie Zorbo\" width=\"457\" height=\"333\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">With the return of Kalamazoo College athletics, Football Coach Jamie Zorbo will guide his Hornets through a season in spring. Zorbo is pictured during the 2019 season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Football Coach Jamie Zorbo\u2019s team is one of the squads getting used to the idea of shifting from fall competitions to spring. Others include cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball.<\/p>\n<p>MIAA football teams, for example, rarely have to deal with sub-freezing temperatures considering they typically begin practice in summer and compete in the early fall. However, the change meant the Hornets started practicing during the coldest days of Kalamazoo\u2019s winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just have to remind ourselves that when things are tough, we’re doing this for the kids and particularly our seniors,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cThey deserve a chance to play and finish out their careers here. That’s immediately where my mind went when I heard we would play this spring. I was just excited for them, and they were just excited to be out there playing the game again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was difficult for Zorbo, his coaching staff and his athletes to know in summer that there would be no football in fall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoaches are creatures of habit and we can get into a routine every fall that we\u2019re used to,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cYou get really busy and it’s always an exciting time of year. It took me a while to kind of get used to not having football and going through the schedule I’m used to that time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The good news is he stayed busy in other ways with regard to recruiting, advising, and being more present with his family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was able to experience some of the things with my family that I don’t typically get to do during the fall, which was a blessing,\u201d he said. \u201cInitially, it was really tough without football, but I found other ways to stay active and engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>K football-related Twitter accounts such as <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KzooFootball\">@KzooFootball<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CoachZorboKZOO\">@CoachZorboKZOO<\/a>; and @WhoisCoachJones, belonging to Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Eugene Jones IV, reveal how coaches have been dedicated to college football in general, recruiting and the K community. Regular posts have shown admission application deadlines, birthday wishes for current players, stories highlighting K\u2019s academic excellence and virtual recruiting trips to about 15 states since last spring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to try to find new ways of giving our prospective students an opportunity to learn every aspect of our program and the college while they get a chance to interact with our current players,\u201d Zorbo said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to re-create virtually elements of the things that have been and continue to be important in our recruiting process. We all viewed it as an opportunity to grow and change the way we do some things for years to come, even when COVID isn’t a threat anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Grateful to be Together\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14314\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14314\" style=\"width: 468px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-14314 \" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/Softball-Coach-Kelli-Duimstra-600x337.jpg\" alt=\"Softball Coach Kelli Duimstra\" width=\"468\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14314\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An athletics shutdown caused by COVID-19 forced the Kalamazoo College softball team to miss out on all but two games of its 2020 season. Duimstra is pictured during an early-season practice last year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Compare Zorbo\u2019s coaching realities with those of Softball Coach Kelli Duimstra, whose team lost nearly their entire season just two games into last spring without an opportunity to simply reschedule later in the academic year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was actually pretty devastating for the players, especially our two seniors,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cI think both were going to have their best seasons at K and I think our team was poised to be very strong. It was heartbreaking for us for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duimstra didn\u2019t want to let her team just leave K without a last chance to connect and talk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a sit-down meeting to let the team express their emotions,\u201d she said. \u201cWe talked about how this was certainly nothing that they had ever been through. Having your entire season canceled? That just doesn’t happen. But then we talked about our place in this pandemic. I stressed that this was obviously something that we don’t want to happen because we want to play. At the same time, we have to do our part to mitigate the spread. And if our part means that we don’t get to play games, then we know we’re going to do what\u2019s best for the greater good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even then, Duimstra wanted her team to connect in ways that could help them while going nearly a full year without in-person interaction as a team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a season, we’re allowed a certain number of weeks when we can practice and play games, so we had a bunch of weeks leftover,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cWe met virtually as a team and I ran through some ideas about what we could do to keep our team together. We watched the two games that we were able to play. We read a book together as a team. We did weekly meetings so our players could get to know their teammates better. These were opportunities to share some intel about what we like to do and why. We couldn’t be together to work on our skills on the field, but we could work to grow as a team. I hope that will help us on the field down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duimstra also conducted virtual recruiting visits through Zoom with on-campus tours suspended. Now, however, the wait for another season is about over as practices have restarted. After a gradual phase-in period that began with players only using their own equipment and not playing catch, the Hornets are poised for an all-MIAA season scheduled to begin March 23 with a doubleheader at Hope College.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re relieved and grateful that we get to be together,\u201d Duimstra said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to put last season in in the rearview mirror. At the same time, we know this can get taken away from us at any moment so we need to appreciate every day we have. We have a very strong conference in softball and there won\u2019t be any off days. That will definitely be a challenge, but I know this team is up to it. They want to be the ones that turn this program in the right direction, so they’re committed and I’m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018We Love to See Them Compete\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14316\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14316\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-14316 size-medium\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2021\/03\/ofarrell-kathleen-14-KCbaseball-9211-300x450.jpg\" alt=\"Athletic Trainer Kathleen White\" width=\"300\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14316\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Athletic Trainer Kathleen White<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>K Head Athletic Trainer Kathleen White, as a medical professional, started to get nervous about COVID-19 earlier than most people did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe started having conversations very early because we were abreast of the situation going on outside the U.S.,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it started creeping over here, we took precautions as much as we could before we knew that a shutdown was going to be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That led to careful planning, meticulous research and thoughtful collaboration, not only between colleagues at K, but between Michigan institutions and around the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had months of figuring out what was going on with the MIAA,\u201d White said. \u201cWe would also meet as an institution, as a department and as a league, and the NCAA had meetings trying to figure out was safe. Things were constantly changing and evolving. We then had to wait to see what the numbers were going to be to see what our policies needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White now tests up to 350 students a week for COVID-19. That alone would pack her schedule, but there\u2019s so much more to ensuring that sports can continue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose tests are just so we can get practices going,\u201d White said. \u201cWe’ll get teams starting on the fields at 4 p.m. and some of our teams don’t stop until probably about 1 a.m., so the only time the training room isn\u2019t open is from about 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. We also contact trace our athletes\u2019 situations, handle our COVID isolation and quarantine situations, and perform the daily testing for them, while doing all our normal athletic training duties on top of all the COVID duties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, White didn\u2019t describe her recent efforts as hectic or stressful. Her mind is focused more on the athletes and the opportunities they\u2019ll have.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt’s definitely exciting because it’s worth it,\u201d White said. \u201cWe live for being able to give our student-athletes their experiences. We love to see them compete and we want to see them grow, not only as athletes but individuals and students. It\u2019s not only for them physically, but for their mental health as well. Sports have really been something that some students need to get through this difficult time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we had the first basketball game the medical staff just kind of looked at each other and was like, \u2018Wow, that’s awesome. We did it,\u2019\u201d she added. \u201cGetting to the first practices was a big accomplishment. Getting through the first couple of weeks of practices was huge. And then making it to the first games, it\u2019s exciting and it’s rewarding for all the work we’ve put in.\u201d<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14300"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24774,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14300\/revisions\/24774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14300"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=14300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}