Student athletes have had dual struggles during this pandemic, with both their chances of being noticed next year growing thinner and their spring seasons fading away. Although many students have shown great athletic potential, four students in particular have been either noticed and/or planned on attending events in front of college scouts.

Isabelle Gelle ’21, who swims for the Lakers Aquatic Club, said her season has been cancelled, which leaves her without a pool to practice in.

“During this time away from my sport I have been focusing on staying in the best shape as possible to be ready when the season starts back up,” Gelle said.

Gelle said she is still trying to further improve herself until the opportunity opens to get back in the pool. Though the coronavirus has disrupted a lot of opportunities to go and visit colleges and show them her skills, she still plans to visit Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University and the Air Force in the future.

“I have been receiving six emails a day from the different schools recruiting because they’re not coaching right now so they have nothing to do but recruit,” Gelle said.

South’s Varsity Soccer goalie, Bennett Smihal ’21 season has been terminated, which has taken away opportunities to be noticed by different schools. Smihal’s club team planned on entering showcases to show their skill directly in front of college scouts out of state, but all were canceled.

“Every day I have been trying to stay active and get as much exercise as possible to not fall off my recruiting path,” Smihal said.

Although Smihal’s club season was cancelled, he is now looking to his high school soccer history in order to be noticed by universities. As well as high school soccer, he will attend identification camps during the summer at various schools to get his name out there in a hope to be noticed by a school.

“The coronavirus has alternately made it not easy to get my name out there to coaches, yet I will continue to work on my own and improve and attempt to find as many chances as possible,” said Smihal.

As this pandemic grows, more and more seasons are becoming endangered. With his track and field season being cancelled, Abraham Abouljoud ’21 is missing out on exposure to college scouts for his running capabilities. Abouljoud is now looking to this upcoming cross country season to show his true capabilities and strengths in front of colleges.

“For my sport it is easy to still practice even without a track, I just try to get as many miles in as possible and stay in shape for the next cross country season,” Abouljoud said.
Since fields and parks are closed, running around town is the only option for Abouljoud, as well as doing certain workouts and keeping in contact with the coaches. According to Abouljoud, he has had to work very hard to get to where he is today because he is not a naturally gifted athlete.

“I think that it’s actually going to benefit me because it gives me more time to train, because there are guys that are more naturally talented athletes than me, and this will give me time to catch up to them,” Aboujoud said.

Finally, nationally ranked fencer Miranda Freedman ’21 has been working on her own to stay in shape and has continued to practice while her season is postponed. Even though she may not be able to show her talent, she has more than demonstrated it before in past events and competitions.

“I have taken this time off to go back to the basics and regain my bearings of the sport and to continue to be the best I can be at the sport,” Freedman said.

Freedman has accomplished a lot in her sport, and thinks this time away is benefiting her due to the fact that she is going back to the basics and which will further help her in the future. She plans to continue to show her skills when social distancing is called off and Freedman can present herself in front of the college scouts. According to Freedman, she is still practicing via online with coaches to further increase her chances of exposure to college coaches.

“They have been watching me for a few years, so they know how and who I am as a fencer, and they know my style and my potential,” Freedmen said.