The Student Athlete

The Student Athlete: What happens when the competition gets cancelled?

by Mary Taylor photography by M. Rickard

In every school there’s an overachiever, a clown, a drama star, an outsider, a nerd, a leader, a slacker, and an athlete. Some of these identities are self-ordained and some of them have been earned over the years. Some are welcome, some are sources of contention, and some are even interchangeable. The point is that the identity of a student is oftentimes attached to something else, perhaps to one of these labels, so, what happens when that something else gets taken away?

Last spring, student athletes were faced with the ultimate challenge: COVID-19 regulations restricted their gathering and their ability to train and compete. Coaches scrambled to keep up to date with the ever-changing requirements for their athletes, and with so many unknowns and variables in play, any long-term type of commitment was impossible. Competitions were postponed with the thought that sports would resume after a temporary quarantine and as long as athletes followed guidelines; however, and as the season went on, regulations grew stricter, and coaches were forced to cancel many if not all of their competitions.

Athletic director Scott Rogers at Columbia Basin College states that one of their initial struggles at the beginning of the pandemic was managing all of the cancellations throughout the league. Now, their struggle is managing all of the logistics behind helping their teams and athletes catch up and compete once again. CBC’s sporting events are managed by the student athletes themselves. Scoreboards, timers, ticket sales etc. are all facilitated by athletes during their off seasons; however, as seasons have merged to catch up, this leads to conflicting schedules. It’s an even bigger problem for dual-sport athletes.

Columbia Basin College has an excellent athletic program that is robust with well-rounded student athletes. In fact, CBC’s graduation rate for student athletes is above the national average with the expectation of increasing their current standing by an additional 20% over the next ten years. After speaking with the athletic director, and hearing about the lengths their program goes to in promoting the success of their student athletes in competition, academics, and in life, I see this as a realistic goal. The Columbia Basin College athletic program not only has a plan to help their sports teams catch up on the time missed through vigorous scheduling, but they also continue to look out for the future of their athletes by helping them attract additional attention from four-year universities. Rogers states that he has each of his student athletes present the department with a “capsule” identifying ten hand-picked four-year colleges or universities that they would like to see themselves attend in the future, along with a list of their personal qualities that they believe would be attractive to potential scouts. Using these capsules, Rogers states that he writes letters of recommendation for all of his student athletes so that they can been seen for their special, individual qualities.

Professional athletes train every day for competition and for standing. The better their performance, the higher their visibility, and the more opportunities that present themselves. Student athletes are no different. Without the ability to compete, it’s understandable that many find themselves in a state of shock and confusion, and with a true sense of loss; however, these emotions can be mitigated by an exceptional coaching staff in an athletic program that offers direction, stability and encouragement. Whether competition is in an individual or team sport, the program that the athletes are ultimately aligned with is just as important as is their talent— because when unprecedented times happen, and they can’t compete, there’s peace in knowing that they are playing for a program that supports them.

“There’s peace in knowing that they are playing for a program that supports them.”