In the years prior to COVID-19, the fall sports seasons would begin in the beginning of September and continue through as late as the end of November.

However, due to the effects of COVID-19, the fall sports began their seasons in March and competed until the end of May.

As fall sports are beginning to wrap up their shortened seasons and getting ready to take a break, they have to look ahead to next season, as they will be competing in their normal fall schedules.

SPU women’s soccer coach Arby Busey discussed the looks of a typical offseason for his team, when the team was originally competing in the fall.

“During the summer our players are a bit on their own. NCAA rules don’t allow us to work with them during the summer break, so they get some conditioning workouts to do, to ensure they come back to campus in great physical condition plus ready for the season,” Busey stated.

The team would normally come back in January and begin conditioning training, but were limited with on the field practice due to NCAA rules. The team would then pick back up after spring break with more field time and play around five games before the summer.

SPU women’s volleyball outside hitter Erin Gould is looking forward to giving her body a break before competition starts back up again.

“I definitely will be taking some time off for my body, maybe like a week or something just to relax. This is the longest we have gone. Usually we have week ten, finals week, and spring break off and this year we have only had one week off. This is the longest our bodies have had to push through,” Gould said.

With summer coming, athletes will be able to continue their training on their own until preseason starts. Coaches and athletes will have a little more time to reset and refresh before they come back together.

Busey sees this break between the two seasons as a good time to recharge, whether physically or mentally.

“I think it will be more necessary to get a mental break from things this year. We have all experienced a very challenging past 14 to 15 months, and a good mental break would do us all some good. I think a week, or two, of being switched off—away from the soccer field and away from the classroom will be needed, and really good for our student-athletes,” Busey said.

Although a break is needed, Gould describes that the break between seasons will give her and her teammates a chance to be anxious and excited for the upcoming season.

“Even though we say our bodies are hurting, when we are away for a week or two weeks we are itching to get back. It’s like I’m excited to have off-season time to get excited for fall,” Gould said.

With there being a four month break until the SPU fall sports pick back up, teams hope to accomplish similar, if not more success than what they had this spring.

“My hope is that we can pick up right where we will leave off this Spring. This has been a really good season for all of us, and I think the shorter break between seasons may allow us to get right back into the fun environment that our players created this Spring. This will all still be pretty fresh on their minds as they come back to campus in August,” Busey stated.