Sports
October 8, 2020
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON COLLEGE RECRUITING BY MADELEINE LITTLE
T Editor
he pandemic has an obvious impact on fall sports, but it also has potential implications for student-athletes’ futures. Unfortunately, as a result, some fall sports have been delayed and moved to a different season. This includes football, boys soccer and girls volleyball. These sports have been moved to the spring and will begin on Feb. 15. With this change, the recruitment process will be different this year for those hoping to play sports at the collegiate level. The shifting of the football season could negatively impact the opportunities that seniors have to be scouted by college coaches this fall. Senior Samuel Pryor is an offensive and defensive lineman who is getting recruited to play football at the next level. He has five offers and is talking to multiple other colleges, but Pryor feels that with the football season being moved, he may not have the same chances he would have had in a normal season. “Honestly, I feel like this may hurt our chances of being recruited, but again, out of my control. We [need to] make due with what we got right now,” Pryor said. Several athletes were relying on their senior seasons to show off their talents to college coaches. With the season getting moved, it may be more difficult for the seniors who have not yet been in contact with any colleges. Kaneland’s football staff members are communicating with college coaches year-round about the athletes, so the staff is still doing the best they can to promote opportunities
Photo courtesy of Samuel Pryor
Senior Samuel Pryor leads the line of players onto the field. Pryor has been a varsity athlete since his freshman year of high school.
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Sports
Photo courtesy of Tyler Conklin
Senior Tyler Conklin pitches at a scrimmage at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. He has been playing on the Elite Baseball Training team for about a year and has been playing baseball since 2006.
for their student-athletes. Head football coach Patrick Ryan believes that everyone involved in the recruitment process will need to adapt to changes. “Like everything else we’re experiencing now, college recruiting is going to be different. Colleges, recruits and coaches, both high school and college, will need to be flexible and willing to adapt to change,” Ryan said. College coaches are consistently recruiting athletes, even during the off-seasons. Senior Kelsey Modaff is a shooting guard for the Kaneland varsity girls basketball team and is looking to play in college. Modaff also plays for an AAU team outside of school, which is where she receives more opportunities for college coaches to evaluate her skills. She has kept in contact with several Division 2 and 3 schools but is unsure of which one to choose. “Recruitment has been good. Colleges are not afraid to reach out and talk or ask you to come visit and look at campus, so that’s something that’s been super easy,” Modaff said. Kaneland’s basketball teams usually have summer camps, leagues and shootouts throughout June, but with COVID-19 precautions they did not have such opportunities. Currently, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has allowed teams to take advantage of 20 preseason contact days. Head varsity girls basketball coach Kelsey Flanagan suggests that athletes who are hoping to have opportunities to play in college should have a realistic
highlight reel. “Having a highlight reel is nice, but they want to see you make mistakes and how you handle them, too. Identifying a full game or two to share is a good idea,” Flanagan said. Unlike basketball teams, which were able to play their full regular season last winter, baseball programs had to cancel their entire seasons last spring. Senior Tyler Conklin is a pitcher for the Kaneland baseball team who committed to Eastern Illinois University on July 8, 2020. Conklin has tried not to let the effects of the pandemic influence his mindset. “I never really took a break from my training,” Conklin said. “So I continued my training as if I was in-season, which helped me stay ahead of the game.” Having a good mentality and being coachable are things that colleges commonly look into when recruiting an athlete. Head baseball coach Brian Aversa has coached Conklin over the years to prepare him to be a college-level athlete. “If he can stay healthy and do what he does best, which is pitching, he will be successful. He already has a great opportunity in front of him, and I know he’ll do everything in his power to prepare himself for that,” Aversa said. Many athletes possess multiple traits that college coaches are drawn to, but some athletes may not get the chances they had hoped for to showcase their talents this year. In these times of adversity, our student-athletes are still encouraged to work hard and make progress, regardless of the circumstances.
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