How can communities stay engaged during a global pandemic?

This week Jess brought a lawyer named Maggie Carlyle from the PAC-12 conference to our cohort meeting to talk about how sports teams have been moving online. She talked about how she changed her own routine to adapt to her online work life. For example, she realized that during her work day pre-quarantine, she would have breaks and socializing time between working, but online she was working constantly and was getting exhausted much earlier than before. She found that changing her schedule to include regular breaks and time to just chat with her colleagues/friends helped her energy levels.

Maggie also talked about how teams have been continuing to work together online. She said that teams have been holding regular zoom meetings for practice but they are not required–flexibility is essential right now during a time when people are dealing with a lot. She also said that there is a Health and Wellness initiative for student athletes that was active pre-corona, but has also been stepping in now. Maggie explained that sports can cause stress for athletes who are also college students, and that usually it’s the teammates who realize when a fellow athlete is struggling; when they’re not all together, there still needs to be a support system.