6 minute read
experience in return to play
The return-to-play protocol for athletes who test positive for COVID-19 along with updated weight-room protocols have allowed players to get back to training as soon as possible.
Everything in the weight room is flowing smoothly. Spring sports start their strength training as they gear up for the start of the season, and winter sports are fine-tuning their skills as they prepare for championship games.
Lacrosse trains for a bit, and then swimming comes in and replaces them. Masks are being worn, weights are being wiped down after use and athletes are staying six feet apart.
But just as the transition from winter to spring sports starts to click…
Four swimmers come down with COVID-19.
Basketball is already in quarantine.
And then, lacrosse is sidelined.
Finally, the heart of the weight room –– head strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth –– learns he has tested positive for COVID-19.
As the school transitions to remote learning the week of Jan. 25, the weight room sits vacant.
As a member of the Lions’ varsity basketball squad, senior Sarbik Saha contracted COVID-19 and developed serious symptoms the week of Jan. 18, forcing him to miss three days of practice.
“On Friday of that week, I started feeling pretty tired,” Saha said. “That Saturday, I really started to feel bad; I woke up with major headaches. I also started feeling the fever coming up in temperature, but the headache was the worst part for me. The cough didn’t come until the following Monday, and then, slowly, I started having congestion on Saturday and Sunday.”
After a nearly week-long bout with COVID-19, Saha began the return-to-play process, knowing that his Senior Night was quickly approaching.
The return-to-play process begins when school nurse Julie Doerge gives an athlete’s positive COVID-19 case to athletic trainer Natalie Bumpas. From there, each athlete is given specific instruction on the progressions to make each day.
“The length and stages of the protocol really depend on the patient,” Bumpas said. “For a P.E. student, it takes around four days to complete, but for a student-athlete, it takes six days to complete. The progressions are individualized to each specific patient.”
For Saha, his progression consisted of the shorter process so that he would be able to participate in Senior Night. With each completed stage, the level of his physical activity increased slightly.
“Finally, that following Sunday or Monday, I was back to full form,” Saha said. “But when I first came back, the first step was extremely light jogging, and I tried getting into it. Then, I was cleared to come back right before Senior Night on Feb. 4 against Cistercian.”
As a result of several winter sports teams’ quarantining, there was a possibility the weight room would shut down completely. Since many sports use this space to conduct workouts, a logical approach was needed.
“When we came back to school [Jan. 25] after a week of remote learning, I fought to get the weight room back open,” Dilworth said. “It was going to be closed altogether, and there would have been no lifting whatsoever. But I presented the weight room as a classroom for my P.E. classes and sports teams. I needed a teaching element in the same way that a teacher needs the classroom.”
While the weight room remained open, a change in the health and safety protocols was made to provide the safest possible environment for athletes.
“Now, only in-season athletes can lift,” Dilworth said. “If athletes do a team lift, there can only be ten athletes at a time that can come in, and they rotate in 30 minute training cycles. Regardless of whether an athlete is lifting individually or with his team, he will get 30 minutes to be in there.”
As for the return-to-play and other policies regarding sports, the school will continue to revise them so that they stay in accordance with the most recent guidelines regarding COVID-19.
“The return-to-play policy was being created before I even arrived at St. Mark’s,” Bumpas said. “It has been in place all year using current research, input from the CDC and county health departments and input from other schools. When new developments come to light in the research, we do our best to include that information into our policies.”
With safety being the primary concern, Dilworth admits that operating in the weight room is a struggle at times.
“The weight room is a building site for athletes to get stronger,” Dilworth said, “so at times it can be hard. Sure, it’s tough working out in a mask, but you just have to look past the ‘normal’ because nothing’s normal anymore. You have to adjust to the protocols while still trying to get the job done.”
HEAVY LIFTING
Sophomore Roome Becker gets back in the weight room in preparation for the beginning of his lacrosse season. by Arjun Khatti
With extra time at home owing to setbacks from COVID-19, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Dilworth recently began recording podcasts on Spotify and on his new Instagram handle, @momentofpower74.
Dilworth made the decision to change his Instagram handle so that his audience could better understand the message his account is trying to convey.
“My whole movement is to make sure that there is development and change,” Dilworth said. “Changing the name was just part of that development for myself. The goal is always striving for something better. Every time you step into a space, that is your chance to seize the moment and take advantage of your opportunity. That is the moment of power.”
Along with changing his Instagram name, Dilworth decided it would be a good time to start a podcast, something that many of his former athletes had encouraged him to do in the past.
“A lot of athletes that left here wanted me to start a podcast,” Dilworth said. “But I could never really find the time. Some ideas they had were answering questions about training and motivation, as well as having Olympic athletes to talk about their experiences. I really love it when I get the chance to do these podcasts.”
Another motivating factor in Dilworth’s plan to start a podcast came when he contracted COVID-19 in January. His latest podcast recording on his Instagram, posted Feb. 3, detailed his experience with the virus.
Along with the symptoms of feeling weak and tired, Dilworth says that being isolated for several weeks was no easy task.
“The isolation and having to be away from my family was the toughest part,” Dilworth said. “It felt like the virus playing mind games with me. I wanted to work out and do the things that I enjoy doing, but I just couldn’t understand why I was unable to. Normally, I’m a very energetic person, but I was just forced to sleep. I had to start giving myself the same motivation that I normally give out on Instagram. Once I dug deep and found a way to get out of that dark place, it was all positive from there.”
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March 11, 2021
