How the shutdown has impacted lower level high school athletes

As she begins her fifth season as a lower level softball coach for Hersey High School, Catherine Zaworski didn't expect to be working more with her players on the computer than the softball diamond.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that's what happened shortly after her young Huskies began practicing.

"We were still going though tryouts when this happened so we really didn't get to talk to the kids," said Zaworski, a standout Hersey catcher and two-time All-Big Ten academic selection for Purdue's softball team.

"The big thing for freshmen, and we have six on our junior varsity 1 team this season, is to build relationships and teach them the mental drive that (head) coach (Molly) Freeman wants in the program."

Unable to have live contact with her players, Zaworski wanted to make sure they were still interacting.

"I've tried to be creative and come up with things for them to be able to compete in and stay connected," she said. "We're trying to give them challenges."

One activity Zaworski set up was brackets that included top collegiate softball plays.

"I actually found a bunch of college videos online from YouTube," she said. "I found some Top Ten plays and put them into brackets. There was a first to third play that UCLA executed and a diving catch from a girl in Florida. If our players picked the right ones in the order they were ranked, they would advance in the brackets."

Veteran Huskies head coach Freeman calls this period of time a challenge for coaches.

"It's not just the girls missing out on the skills part," she said. "But on the social side of things where they're building relationships with their teammates."

Freeman remembers her own high school days at Fremd as a multisport standout.

"My closest friends to this day are the girls I played freshmen basketball with at Fremd," Freeman said. "That's where you really build close relationships that last a lifetime. And that's what these kids are really missing out on.

"That's what I feel bad about. You can always develop skills but you really miss out on the team bonding that carries over through the season."

Barrington freshman softball coach Chris Hawkins sent out an email to his players reminding them they can play catch with a family member and other type of constructive things while also social distancing themselves.

"I know it's a little cliché but this is the time you're trying to get them to understand the program," said Hawkins, who is beginning his 11th season with the freshman program. "You're trying to develop and teach expectations.

"We have a Google account where we'll all get together and be able to see each other, kind of like a group chat with video."

York distance track coach Jim Hedman explained the good news for track and field was that the younger runners already have experience from last fall's cross country season.

"It's pretty much the same kids and they've already had a couple of months with indoor track," he said. "So they have an idea of what they're doing and what we want them to do.

"It's hard, obviously, because you don't have that structure that you would when you're in practice with your coaches."

But the younger players already received leadership from last fall.

"They've been able to see how those older guys handled themselves in cross country and how they're pretty much goal driven," Hedman said.

He added that the runners are able to be outside getting their workouts but it is a different situation for the field event athletes.

"Obviously distance runners can run on paths," he said. "But pole vaulters, high jumpers, etc., it's difficult for them if they don't have a facility to use. And you really need coaches for that - working on your form and stuff like that. So they'll be lagging on that coming back."

Naperville Central boys golf coach Barry Baldwin says that next year's freshmen players are the ones really set back.

"We have our eighth-grade orientation in the spring and we send them information," Baldwin said. "Their parents are asking what pros they should be seeing, what tournaments they should be in. They ask a ton of questions and now there is nowhere to turn.

"A lot of freshmen don't have a lot of experience. This spring and upcoming summer is really when things start coming together at tournaments. That's where they learn to play at a competitive level so they are ready when they get to us. They're not getting that now."