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Stories of Connection: Student-athletes stay in shape, stay in touch

April 28, 2020

Woman running in Roanoke uniform

This month, Emma Maras ‘23 was supposed to run in seven track meets for the Roanoke Maroons, including the ODAC Outdoor Championships.

Instead, the long-distance runner is winding through the streets of her hometown of State College, Pennsylvania. With the  Roanoke College Athletics spring season coming to a sudden halt in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maras and other Maroons student-athletes are training individually.

Tim Smith, interim cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, has been sending out workout plans to runners, and said athletes have been measuring out the distances in their neighborhoods or parks near their homes. Maras said training alone has been a bit odd, but she’s been able to cater her workouts to her own pace instead of running in a group and having to speed up or slow down for teammates. 

That approach ended up working for Maras in particular, as she ran the best time of her life in the 5,000 meters — 19:42 (which would have been good for seventh at the ODAC Indoor Championship meet in March). Maras said she was thrilled, but wasn’t too surprised.

“Sure, it's not common to run PRs [personal records] solo or on roads, but my fitness is better than it has ever been in my life,” Maras said. “Also, I feel as though, ironically, I hit a new level of motivation when the season was canceled because it became more about my love for the sport than anything else.”

Part of creating a desirable culture within an athletic team is keeping them connected. Connected to the mission, and connected to each other. ...I’m not at all surprised that our coaches have embraced the importance of these connections at this difficult time.

Scott Allison, director of athletics

Other Athletics teams are also tracking their exercise at home. The field hockey team is competing in a miles challenge, Assistant Coach Hannah Myers said, in which the players (and even the coaches) track how far they run each week and see who’s doing the most.

The field hockey team is also communicating via an email chain in which each player on the roster lists three things they’ve been up to during their time at home.

Many of the teams are figuring out similar ways to stay in touch and still feel like a team even if they’re not together.

Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Bill Pilat ‘85 and Assistant Coach Drew Bowers ‘08 have held Zoom meetings with current players. Pilat said it’s been a great way to not only stay in touch but also answer questions in as face-to-face a manner as possible.

“It was fun for the guys and allowed them to ask any questions,” Pilat said. “I also told them of our schedule for 2021 to give them something to look forward to.”

Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach Daniel Ragsdale’s birthday came while all the players were away, so they put together a short video for him. In the video, players pretend to pass a ball from person to person. In reality, they each filmed a quick clip of the tennis ball coming into the frame from their right and passed it off the screen to the left, then spliced all the clips together. Ragsdale appreciated the video, and it’s a birthday he won’t soon forget.

Alumni sharing their wisdom

Even alumni are getting active online to stay connected with fellow sports fans. 

Booker Corrigan ‘89 has begun doing a regular Facebook Live dedicated to all things lacrosse. He talks about players past and present, and engages fellow fans and players in the comments.

Two alumni — Dr. Amy Athey ‘97 and Jay Piccola ‘74 — spoke to the men’s soccer team via Zoom on Monday, sharing thoughts on what it takes to have success on and off the field. 

Athey is an All-American basketball player and 1996-97 ODAC Player of the Year who led the Maroons to three ODAC titles. A Maroons Hall of Fame inductee, Athey is now a prominent sports psychologist, working with student-athletes at the University of Arizona.

Piccola, also an All-American basketball player, helped lead Roanoke to the 1972 NCAA Championship. He went on to become a top executive in the sports performance and apparel sector, serving as president of PUMA North America until he retired in 2017.

“To have two of the greatest athletes in Roanoke College history, [who] also reached the pinnacles of their respective professional careers, take their time to speak and share with us is a very special opportunity for us,” Head Men’s Soccer Coach Ryan Pflugrad ‘02, said to the players via email.

The players enjoyed the perspective Athey and Piccola shared via Zoom. The two alumni answered questions and shared insight about how to succeed before and after graduation.

Director of Athletics Scott Allison ‘79, said he’s been impressed with the lengths coaches and student-athletes have gone to in order to stay in touch. These efforts sum up the mission of the Athletics department as a whole, he said.

“Part of creating a desirable culture within an athletic team is keeping them connected,” Allison said. “Connected to the mission, and connected to each other. The end result, for which we strive, is, of course, success on and off the field. I’m not at all surprised that our coaches have embraced the importance of these connections at this difficult time.”