GU Baseball During COVID-19

This year, the world has seen the tremendous impact that COVID-19 has had on athletics on Greenville’s campus and throughout the world. From little league to the professional level, many sports teams are having issues with COVID-19, and they have seen how the virus has affected their players. This is no different for Greenville University Baseball as they are in the works of trying to start their fall season. In an interview with Head Coach Lynn Carlson, he explains how this year’s fall season will be impacted by COVID-19.

Greenville University baseball was able to start their fall season workouts as scheduled on August 30th.  When asked how the fall season will look, Head Coach Lynn Carlson said “We will begin practices on September 21st as scheduled. We will not be playing any outside competition during the fall, but we will have intra-squad games just as we would in a normal fall season.” Carlson is also excited about the changing of rules this year in regards to the number of contactable days coaches get to spend with their athletes. He stated, “Due to the impact of COVID-19, instead of the traditional 19 weeks coaches get to spend with their athletes, the NCAA is allowing a maximum number of days instead.”  What this means is that the coaches will be able to have 114 contactable days instead of the 106 contactable days that they would normally have within a 19-week limit. Carlson is being very strategic with these extra 8 days of contact in order to make sure that he has his team ready in both the fall and spring seasons.

Greenville University Baseball has had a tough go with COVID-19 in the past year by having last year’s season cut down to only 14 games. This can have a tremendous impact on an athlete’s mental health. Some athletes can even feel burnout. When asked how he would combat this, Carlson said, ”There is always a chance of burnout. This is college athletics, and it has a certain intensity to it. If you are a committed college athlete, then you are stretching yourself in terms of your energy level and time commitments. Mental burnout comes from the stress of COVID-19, but the reality is that as a college athlete, you should be passionate about your sport. The social aspects of playing a game you love with the people you love should help sustain us through the times when it isn’t as joyful as we would like it to be. As long athletes have a balanced perspective of our sport and life, we have a chance to learn so many valuable lessons through our participation in athletics that can impact us positively in other areas of our lives.  This opportunity is a gift for us to appreciate and enjoy. If we have a grateful heart, we can grab hold of all there is to gain through this experience.”

Media by Dustin Phelps