A year after Covid-19 originally hit and canceled sports seasons around the world, many athletes are still dealing with the effects of the virus, including some of the teams at SAU.

“When someone tests positive for COVID-19 the first thing that we do is put them in an isolation area away from everyone else. They will be isolated for 10 days from the start of their symptoms, or 10 days form the test day if no symptoms,” athletic trainer Jason Vorwerk stated. 

“Those that have been deemed as coming into close contact with the person who is positive will be quarantined for 14 days. They are because you can still develop signs or symptoms within 14 days from the contact with the person,” Vorwerk stated. 

These rules and guidelines apply to every team, and the baseball team at SAU has been no stranger to this process. Recently, more than 5 players were quarantined and missed time from games and classes because of the protocol even though none were covid positive. 

“The hardest part was probably once I got out of quarantine, I still was not allowed to come back and play in the games or be at practice,” senior baseball player Mike Snow said. 

Snow was one of the players forced to miss time due to covid protocols, even though he was completely healthy. 

“Just being away from the game for so long it’s just hard. I’ve been playing baseball since I was young and I’ve never missed a day or taken a day off, so having to miss team and not be with the team due to something that I personally did not have was hard to cope with,” Snow said. 

Unfortunately, Snow and SAU athletic teams are not the only ones dealing with covid protocols set by their prospective leagues and won’t be the last ones either. Students that have to go through these incidents sometimes struggle to stay motivated and on top of their schoolwork. 

“Any athletes going through a similar situation to take care of their mental health as a quarantine can take a toll. It’s important to stay in touch with professors, coaches and teammates,” Snow said.