A Year of Wearing the Red Shirt

story by Elliott Watkins photos by Dylan Hanson design by Evan Brown

A YEAR OF WEARING THE RED

When the passion an athlete has for their sport comes to a crossroads with their ability to succeed on the field, court or track, the choice to redshirt arises as an option Stepping away from competition is a hard decision and can take an abundance of strength and determination.

Those on the outside of collegiate athletics have hardly been given the chance to see into the experiences of redshirt players …until now.

WHAT DOES IT

MEAN TO BE A REDSHIRT PLAYER?

For those less familiar with sports terminology, being a redshirt player is a complex concept. To be a redshirt player means to give up competition for a year to either hone their skills or heal from any injuries they may have, in order to extend an athletes playing eligibility. There are different sports to redshirt in, different positions, and different reasons why an athlete would refrain from competing for a year.

“We always talk about redshirting as trading your worst year for your best year,” says Head Football Coach Christopher Fisk.

FOOTBALL

The concept of redshirting in football is strenuous and considerably demanding. For football players that redshirt, the demands of being a team player, as well as student athlete, are everyday from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. making the days long and the reward of gametime obsolete.

Fans don’t see the hard work and dedication that student athletes have for their athletic careers. Fans don’t see what goes into being a successful player off the field. “Win, lose or draw we measure these student athletes on whether they’re successful on the field and we probably don’t give them enough respect or credit for what they do just to be on the field,” says Fisk.

A YEAR OF WEARING REDSHIRT

A similarity between football and volleyball is that redshirt players are most often freshmen. This is because freshmen often require more time to develop collegiate level skills. Both football and volleyball also have four years of eligibility for players.

VOLLEYBALL

Redshirting for volleyball players at CWU starts during the recruitment process, allowing new players to grow as volleyball players. If the redshirt season is successful, then the player is able to continue on as part of the CWU volleyball team.

Redshirting as an upperclassman is only ever done as a way to prevent further injury if a player is injured. If the choice to redshirt is not about an injury the team and players will usually cut ties rather than redshirting someone that has already completed their freshman year.

“Usually how we recruit is based off of balancing classes,” says Head Volleyball Coach Mario Andaya.“If after a couple of years they want to take a break or they are not quite developed then it’s either we are cutting ties a little bit and saying it’s not working out and you want to move on. If they’re injured then for sure. We want to take that medical red shirt and get them back and healthy again,” The only difference between the experiences of redshirt players and the rest of their volleyball team is playtime. The practices and expectations of redshirts are the same as any of the rest of their teammates on the volleyball team, except for playing in matches.

“We try not to make them feel any less of a player or student athlete. Sometimes it’s hard when we are traveling and they’re not, but that is the situation,” says Andaya, “We’ve always treated red shirts as a positive…Redshirting is all about development and creating balance with classes and if they are ready to go after a year of developing we get them for four years.”

CROSS COUNTRY & TRACK

Redshirting in track and cross country is different than in football and volleyball. The concept of redshirting is not as applicable because the recruitment aspires to find athletes who are able to compete from the get go.

This is especially true within the men’s cross country team, as there is a limited roster.

“If we can help it we don’t want any men on the roster who aren’t actively competing. So in general, we never plan to redshirt anybody,” says Coach Kevin Adkisson

Redshirting on these teams is more often than not done during the player’s third year if they are under the assumption that they will be at CWU for five years instead of the original four years. This extends their eligibility, and allows them to finish their academic and athletic careers simultaneously.

“Otherwise a redshirt for us comes as result of an injury if that happens,” says Adkisson.

The redshirt experience on the track and field and cross country teams is still demanding of the student athletes.

Athletes are still expected to practice with teams and be academically eligible, however, the redshirts are able to compete independently in their meets as long as they register for the races/meets separate from their team.

“It’s really nice in our regard when someone has been doing an injury redshirt, because when they are back from the injury it really helps them to be able to do an unattached meet to double check their progress and see that they are coming along and know that they are ready to compete again,” says Adkisson.

COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, “Everybody was forced to redshirt,” Adkisson says. The NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility to athletes, however, this would still only allow players who had already redshirted, two years of game time if they were on the path to graduate as a fourth year. Meaning they would stay a fifth or a sixth year in order to take advantage of the two redshirt years.

COVID has also made the turnout for teams less substantial.

“We have a smaller roster with some COVID situations over the past year or so,” says Andaya.

THE PLAYER PERSPECTIVE

Scottie Ellsworth, a player on the volleyball team that redshirted last year, shares her experience. “I know that sometimes there is almost a negative stigma around redshirting.”

She explains that for herself, being a redshirt athlete was incredibly positive and very eye-opening. “It gives you a year of getting to work with the team and with the girls and you don’t have to have the added stress of playing the games,” Ellsworth says. “It’s all a year of learning which is super helpful.”

Ellsworth says her year redshirting and getting to experience so much is something invaluable and she wouldn’t change a thing about her decision. She also explains that redshirting helped with the stress and workload associated with being a collegiate athlete. “Redshirting really helped me get a grasp of volleyball and school and how to balance it.”

Rather than being thrown into the deep end of a new environment, Ellsworth says she has a better handle on how to navigate being a collegiate student-athlete thanks to her redshirt year.

In terms of this year, Ellsworth credits a large part of her confidence this year to her redshirting experience. “I think that starting off with that year of experience, it’s much more comfortable because the connections were made that first year and so I feel more connected with the girls.”