Viking Athletics: Charging Through COVID-19

VIKING ATHLETICS

CHARGING THROUGH COVID-19

HOW AUGUSTANA ATHLETICS, ATHLETES PIVOT THROUGH PANDEMIC

| BY RYAN HILGEMANN

March 12, 2020. The Augustana Athletics Department had a pair of top-25 teams in baseball and softball, the swimming, indoor track & field and wrestling teams were at the sites of the NCAA Division II National Championships, and the department as a whole had gone through months of planning to host the wrestling championships. Then everything came to a screeching halt.

Due to COVID-19, the championships for all three sports were canceled, and the seasons for baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and outdoor track and field were also canceled.

All sports at Augustana were affected including the spring exhibition seasons for football, volleyball and soccer, a portion of training that teams utilize to prepare for the following academic year.

Kelly Kleekamp, a native of Olathe, Kansas, had completed her freshman campaign for the Viking soccer team in the fall and was just getting into spring workouts when the pandemic hit.

“At first, it was — I have another week to get into gear because we were going to come back from Spring Break and run a fitness test,” Kleekamp said. “But then we moved online for the rest of the semester and it turned into, I really don’t want to miss my spring season.”

On top of missing out on key development with her teammates, Kleekamp also had a realization of missing classmates. “I love walking down the hall to see my friends,” she said. “They all live four-to-five hours away from me, so I miss seeing them. I miss the atmosphere. I love school and the cultural aspect of it. I am a little bit of an introvert, but school forces me to go out and meet people and do things that put me out of my comfort zone.”

The soccer team, fresh off its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in six years, found ways to stick together although being miles and hours apart.

“We had weekly team meetings, then we had class meetings, where the seniors would meet, the juniors would meet and so on, and we found ways to stay accountable,” Kleekamp said about the first couple weeks of quarantine.

“Ally Young, Josie Arduser and myself, we came up with a Google Drive folder where we would enter our fitness for that day, our ball work for that day and that led into Fitness Tuesdays, an Augustana Classic. We set up a Zoom call, set our camera outside and we would run fitness together.”

It wasn’t without its hiccups as the entire nation was grasping to learn the technology of virtual meetings on the fly, but by the end of what would have been the spring season, the bugs were worked out and the Vikings were staying connected.

“It was a really good thing,” Kleekamp added. “Fitness is not easy, and it is very difficult to run successfully by yourself. The Zoom calls were a great way to stay motivated and feel more accountable. Having your teammates with you, even though it was online, it was a good feeling. There was good energy.”

As spring turned into summer, Kleekamp took on a job at

HAVING YOUR TEAMMATES WITH YOU, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ONLINE, WAS A GOOD FEELING. THERE WAS GOOD ENERGY.”

- KELLY KLEEKAMP

a gas station in her hometown while still navigating her way around various restrictions and staying motivated for her team and herself.

“I practiced with my former teammates who were also playing collegiately,” Kleekamp said. “I played bigger sided stuff, so it wasn’t just me getting touches on the ball, but I got touches on the ball on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then I ran every other day.”

The team used a group chat to continue to stay connected and talk about workouts they had completed, which then motivates one another to

continue on with their own personal workouts.

“Your teammates are checking in and saying I did this today and you’re able to respond with what you did yourself,” Kleekamp added.

When she was in a personal funk, she was able to reach out to teammates who then, in turn, helped her get back on track.

“They’ve been there, they know the pains and struggles,” she said. “We all go through the same stuff, so they always offer up a lot as a support system.”

When asked specifically about a leader, Kleekamp brought up rising senior Shannon McKnight.

“She’s definitely been the one that reaches out, checks on things, asks how it is going.”

Kleekamp was also quick to point out the role that head coach Brandon Barkus and assistant coach Aric Spader played throughout the spring.

“They worked through some growing pains,” Kleekamp said in reference to learning how to coach a team through Zoom and distance training. “They made adjustments as they needed to. They were very flexible and adaptable.”

“They handled the pandemic really well.”

The athletics department opened its doors for voluntary workouts beginning June 1 and used a three-phase approach to bring student-athletes back.

“I’m excited to see my friends again, start my preseason and play soccer with my team again,” Kleekamp said. “It’s been rough not to see them because that really was my boost at the end of the day, to see the people I love and play the sport I love. I am just excited to get back to campus.”

After the interview with Kleekamp, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced the cancellation of fall sports championship and the suspension of all athletic competition through Dec. 31. A winter sports schedule will be released at a later date, while NSIC membership is committed to exploring meaningful opportunities for competition in the spring for fall student-athletes.

The Augustana community was kept up-to-date with the changes through various newsletters from Director of Athletics Josh Morton along with a video series which featured guests such as head men’s basketball coach Tom Billeter, head strength and conditioning coach Brett Chambers, head volleyball coach Jen Jacobs and student-athletes such as Vishe’ Rabb and Sydney Capers among others. The Inside Athletics newsletter and the Viking Video Chats can be found on GoAugie.com. n