Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2021

SOUTHWE S T E RN | 1 3 Almost a year after the pandemic shut themdown, sports returned to Southwestern. In these challenging times, athletics can seem unimportant considering the prob- lems the world has faced. However, team practices and individual games are so vital for the sense of normalcy they can represent. Still, in an era of social distancing, how do you maintain the bonds forged by teamwork? In 2020–2021, Zoom calls became a way of life for SU student–athletes, just as they have for the rest of the world. Some coaches assigned books to bond over; Greta Grothe, head coach for women’s basketball, had her team discuss Joshua Medcalf’s Chop Wood, Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great (2015). Other teams relied on the culture they’d already built over time, with Pirates leading the way in maintaining their training at home. Delayed seasons allowed some to delve into new training methods instead of quick preparation for a season. The smaller groups necessitated by COVID protocols required greater emphasis on individual skill work in team sports such as volleyball and basketball. Some coaches built in a moment of fun to start practices, allowing student– athletes to leave the stresses of the current reality on the sidelines before going to work on improving their game. Others reserved time for after workouts to preach positivity. In all cases, the Pirates turned obstacles into opportunities. Southwestern’s athletes and coaches have taken abnormal steps to prepare for high-level competition and regain a sense of normalcy. Whatever the situation, the Pirates have gotten through it as they do every- thing else: together. OBSTACLES INTO OPPORTUNITIES STORY BY JESSE BLANCHARD Many Pirate athletes, including soccer player Brendan Dauth ’21 (@daaauth), shared on Instagram how they were still training hard at home when conference sports were canceled during the fall season.