Amid the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the Fullerton College women’s soccer team was forced to halt all sports activities. Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to stop in the middle of the season like the spring sports did.
The sudden halt also didn’t stop last semester’s transferring sophomores from retaining their scholarships at the university level and transferring amid all of the other uncertainty.
The players who moved on include Mia Bannon who transferred to Stockton College, Kaelah Basurto who transferred to Cal State Los Angeles and Audrey Ochoa who transferred to the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
“So far it’s been as good as can be expected, with COVID everything has been online … We have weekly zoom meetings going over concepts both for the culture of the team and on-the-field tactics.” Kaelah Basurto said regarding her first semester at Cal State Los Angeles.
Some players opted to pass on scholarship opportunities and instead chose to focus on academics rather than sports, according to head coach Pam Lewin
As for the current Sophomores who aren’t playing and are interested in playing at the 4-year level, Levin shared that they have not lost their eligibility due to not playing any games.
The previous semester’s games were recorded and athletes are able to create highlight videos to showcase their skills to any 4-year universities that may be interested.
Freshman players have felt the effects of the hiatus the most because they have to spend their very first season online and they don’t have highlights to send to 4-year schools yet.
Levin is trying to bridge the gap by staying in close contact with her players throughout this time. The team finds ways to stay active during Zoom sessions and workouts.
Levin is confident considering the choices involved in practicing sports that the team can maintain a pretty healthy lifestyle without practice and games.
She also reminds them often about the importance of social distancing and how that can help reduce the risk of the virus being contracted within the team.
Amidst all of the struggles and uncertainty, “Everything is fluid” Coach Levin said.
The team is expected to begin practicing on campus again in October. This season will also see the team play 15 games instead of the normal 22.
However, due to many other sports scheduled to have their seasons at the same time, there is a potential for some more issues to appear.
On top of seeing a reduced season, a lot of the game officials are cross-over officials between different colleges and high schools in the area. Due to the limited number of officials, this could cause a potential shortage for games.
Although it would be a worst-case scenario, Levin and the rest of the team are focused on handling what they can control at the moment.
Levin is excited about being able to return to campus to practice for the first time this season. Although she does hope the protocols in place can keep everyone safe since there are limited places to workout and train on campus.
After a long hiatus, the Fullerton College women’s soccer team is ready to move the ball forward.
