Kean’s female athletes adjusting their training to increase their strength

By Lenny Mata Cuevas | Published by October 23, 2020

Mental strength, routine changes, and student concerns are among the challenges that Kean University’s female athletes have endured while adjusting their training and workouts during the pandemic.

Kean counted on having a busy agenda for women’s sports starting spring 2020, whether it was with scheduled games or practices. These are all part of the goal of having prepared competitors and a successful season. Nevertheless, the pandemic changed the sports and workout environment for the college’s teams, especially in those where physical proximity is necessary for a successful outcome.

Despite disappointments and setbacks that came with canceling games and finally the season, players have come up with ideas to keep their physical and mental strength on point and ready to compete.

Marissa Cook, senior player for the soccer team, recalls buying her “own equipment to do home workouts.” However, she focuses more on the importance of athlete’s mental health as another test to overcome the consequence of the pandemic.

“Being a student athlete can be a lot to handle,” said Cook. “I’ve had a great deal of stress but I have people I can go to.”

Students and athletes need much more than physical strength to succeed both academically and athletically. According to a study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine lead by researchers Eugene Hong and Andrew Wolanin from Drexel and Kean University, female athletes exhibited “1.844 times the risk of male athletes for endorsing clinically relevant symptoms” related to depression and mental health. Therefore, mental strength is imperative for them to be productive and efficient with their tasks.

Physical activities also rely on physical power, so they had to find a way to stay strong. Before COVID-19, athletes had the advantage of working out at the college facilities with their team and coaches, said Victoria Vitale, a sophomore member of the women’s soccer team.

Now, motivated by superior discipline and toughness, the women athletes have gone out of their way when it comes to training. They said they’ve been working consistently on their physical health and facing the problems that have disrupted the practice of their games.

Athletes have considered different alternatives to readjust their workout routines, whether it was improvising gym and training fields in their homes or running and exercising outside the campus, just to maintain and focus on their training and muscular endurance.

“We were able to withstand that by keeping in contact with workouts and team Zoom meetings over the summer,” said Lia DiPiazza, a senior captain of the field hockey team. “We got creative by lifting household items like chairs, bricks or gallons of water.”

Meanwhile, field hockey team goalie Isabela (Belly) Reynoso got to practice at home, helped by her parents.

“For running and lifting, my dad set up weights in the garage for me,” Reynoso said. “I started running on local trails, which as a woman was a little nerve racking.”

Reynoso also said she and her family set up a makeshift cage in her backyard during the spring and her mother would shoot on her.

“Having to figure out how to stay in shape when all the gyms closed and the local school tracks were also locked up was a challenge,” she said.

These athletes are also students with as many responsibilities and concerns as any other regular Kean student. Some of them are in their senior year, which was supposed to be the one to remember and share.

“The year you look forward to forever, the games, the senior night, the team bonding,” Cook said.

For others, practicing their sport is an important and healthy way to release the stress that online classes, finances and other issues being a student introduces.

“Nothing clears my mind better than a long run or practicing stick skills on the turf,” DiPiazza said.

The athletes interviewed credited Kean for how the staff has made it easier to maintain their performance as athletes and students.

“Our voices are definitely heard,” DiPiazza said. “We’re lucky enough to have astonishing athletic trainers, coaches and administrators that support us in any way possible.”

Cook also said Kean has done a great job, but if one area could be improved it would be even more help with building mental strength.

“I think if there were more outlets and professionals available, it could do a lot of good for students’ mental health,” Cook said.

Zoe Strozewski, The Tower’s editor-in-chief and former member of the women’s volleyball team advocates for more education regarding the risk that COVID-19 represents for female athletes specifically.

“The impacts of the pandemic can be worsened when they intersect with different disparities, such as income inequality and sexual health,” Strozewski said.

Even though they may have to play in a different atmosphere and energy than the one they are used to, women athletes are giving everything to and for the sport they love and the chance to play once more.

“Any chance we get to play is a positive one,” DiPiazza said. “Sports will continue eventually, and when the opportunity comes, we will be ready.”

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