When Adversity Strikes

As a Division I athlete I have been trained to be reactive to my environment in ways to help me adapt to my situation. Adversity comes in many shapes and sizes from injury to dietary restrictions. I’ve faced many obstacles in my track career including injury, anxiety and dietary restriction. Now that the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a pandemic shocking the globe, many people have been forced to adjust to new governmental and administrative protocols. At 7:39 pm on March 12, 2020, Duquesne University Track athletes got the news that our track careers were put to an abrupt end. For four long years I have competed at the highest level of division sports, and to see it all come to a complete stop before the outdoor season even began hurts. Not only has the NCAA officially cancelled the continuation of all winter and spring sports for the year on the collegiate level, the NBA has declared their suspension of the rest of the 2019-2020 season due to reportedly two players on the Utah Jazz Men’s Basketball team having two confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. When we talk about adversity and how we usually find ways to overcome those difficulties we usually aren’t prepared for how things will turn out. As a senior I am sadden that my collegiate track season has come to an end, however, at the sacrifice of preventing more widespread disease- I am okay. As difficult as it is to accept and with the emotions that I am feeling, the health and safety of those in our communities must be a priority. My hope is that as we continue to learn more about this virus and the complexity of our now developed situation. Everyone should take into consideration other peoples lives and how your actions affect them. These measures that the NCAA and the NBA have taken has shown that this virus while at first seemed to be outlandish, is now becoming more of an impending emergency we should take seriously. As more information is being released, my hope is that the situation becomes more controlled as there are teams working endlessly to find ways to combat this disease.      

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