The squeaky court, the damp field and the hot sun blazing down onto the track below are all things student-athletes at school miss deeply.

Getting back to playing sports is extremely important for the student-athletes who are interested in competing in college. As students crave to play sports again, they are also constantly busy as they work carefully on their recruiting process.

The impact of COVID-19 has been harsh to everyone in different ways. In the world of college athletics, the virus has caused numerous athletic programs to shut down. For example, Stanford University cut 11 varsity sports for the 2020-2021 school year. Sports such as field hockey, men’s volleyball, and fencing have been discontinued.

The shift towards online or digital platforms has made a significant effect on recruiting. The number of coaches going to recruiting websites in 2020 has increased by 20% in comparison to 2019. Furthermore, the amount of emails opened by coaches has increased by 26% in association to 2019.

Some student-athletes have struggled to get into their recruiting process due to the pandemic. When a coach looks at a student’s profile, they typically look for statistics, film, and transcripts.

Due to the closures in March, some student-athletes haven’t been able to compete properly against other teams. This causes some athletes to find past statistics to display to coaches.

“There’s a website called athletic.net that posts all of your times that you’ve run in certain races and events and meets,” said junior runner Stormy Wallace. “Colleges can go onto that website and see your times.”

It is important for student-athletes to be updating recruiting portals as much as possible. Contacting college coaches and establishing relationships with them is extremely valuable in the recruiting process.

“Call the coaches… they want to know what kind of a person you are,” varsity boys volleyball coach David Savage said. “Start trying to send out emails and go from there.”

For sophomores, juniors, and seniors time is crucial in the recruiting process. The earlier a person starts the better chances they will have.

“You need to get on top of it early or else coaches won’t look at you at all. I started [the recruiting process] my freshman year,” said senior volleyball player Laird Porter.

Sporting events in California have slowly started to open up again, hopefully giving student-athletes a better chance to get film and statistics to send to coaches.

“Let’s take chances, let’s go for it, let’s put ourselves out there, let’s try and get seen by these coaches because nothing ventured, nothing gained.”