Beavers Use COVID-19 Pause to Build Bodies, Boost Chemistry
When a pandemic postponed BVU Athletics, pushing fall sports to the spring season, Beaver student-athletes bonded, trained, and kept their focus on their health, one another, and their shared future.
Moments before pulling out of her driveway to embark on a drive to Buena Vista University last August, junior Nikki Schuppan checked her email. She had a note from Coach Benton Frayne, as did the rest of the Women’s Soccer team. The team, along with the rest of the American Rivers Conference, had its season postponed because of COVID-19.
Across the league, and throughout the country, student-athletes dealt with similar communications and postponements, facing an uncertain future in their athletic pursuit.
“I was tired of being at home,” Schuppan says, recalling how she and the rest of the student-body left campus in March 2020, the result of the virus’ spread. “I wanted so badly to be back on campus and be with my friends. I wanted to play soccer, too. I hadn’t played in so long.”
Schuppan drove from Glenwood to Storm Lake. She immediately met with teammates Madison Field and Hannah Wuebker. Frayne called a team meeting, but did so in groups as the Centers for Disease Control advised teams to convene in smaller pods.
The typical autumn season for football, soccer, and volleyball didn’t start until the second semester. March, for example, was a month in which every BVU sport, except for cross country, competed. That’s 17 Beaver athletic teams in competition.
“I really felt relieved when the announcement came that we would have a season, even if it was going to be limited to conference games. I was just so happy to be playing with my teammates.”
Nikki Schuppan
“We had nearly every student-athlete in official competition in March,” says Amy Maier, Associate Director of Athletics. “We tested for COVID-19 regularly, and our students and coaches worked hard to protect themselves and each other as we got through a very memorable time period.”
All students were tested upon their return to campus to begin the second semester in January. Members of the women’s soccer team were tested every other week from that point forward. All told, Schuppan was tested for COVID-19 on 10 occasions. She never tested positive.
“We had some struggles in practicing in small groups during the fall, unsure of whether or not we would have a season,” says Schuppan, a secondary math education major who carries a 3.7 GPA. “I really felt relieved when the announcement came that we would have a season, even if it was going to be limited to conference games. I was just so happy to be playing with my teammates.”
The downside of playing collegiate spring soccer this year, at least for Schuppan, involved lost revenue. The BVU forward is climbing the ranks among referees adjudicating Iowa high school and club contests and tournaments.
“Normally, in late March and early April, I referee up to four nights per week in high school soccer,” Schuppan says. “With my Beavers team competing at that time, I was involved in practice and BVU games, so I couldn’t referee.”
All told, Schuppan estimates the schedule conflict cost her $1,500 to $2,000 in lost wages.
“I lost my part-time job in the spring and summer of 2020, too, because there wasn’t soccer to officiate,” she says.
Thankfully, she was able to land a part-time job at the Mills County Fair and conducted youth camps over the summer at Glenwood. She worked as a tutor at the Center for Academic Excellence at BVU in the fall and took substitute teaching jobs in the math departments at Glenwood (in early January) and Alta-Aurelia.
During the spring, she resumed her officiating schedule, earned a state tournament assignment, and looked to work her way into regional, perhaps national tournaments, at the club level. That drive kept her working out and allowed her to grow even closer to the sport she helps lead as a captain at BVU.
“I can’t wait for this fall,” Schuppan concludes. “I’m wanting to get the virus behind us as I fully focus on our team.”
