Another year, another hiatus in sports. Not only has Omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant, delayed a return to campus, but it has also impacted yet another season of college sports.
“It’s somewhat of a disbelief that unfortunately, our student athletes have to go through something like this again,” Humber Hawks men’s basketball head coach Omar Miles said. “And this time, I’m not able to be as hopeful and use encouraging words because we tried to do that the first time and we lost the whole season.”
He’s seen it all in his first year leading the team. With a promising group of players eager to make a name for themselves once again, Miles’ team have not had the opportunity to consistently follow through with their schedule.
The latest hiatus on college sports began before the winter semester and was the result of a Modified Step 2 of the original reopening plan organized by the provincial government. Following the recent surge in Omicron cases throughout the province, the Ontario government deemed it necessary to add college sports to its hefty list of restrictions.
Miles said he is very concerned a crucial national tournament hosted by Humber could be in jeopardy, considering there is no official timeline for their season to resume.
He said he and his players are feeling frustrated. They’re working to maintain their mental health and calm the stresses his players are experiencing as they realize their potential and high aspirations are being kept in check by the calendar.
“There’s guys that potentially have an opportunity to play pro, but if you have no stats, if you have no game film, you can’t move on, you haven’t proven anything,” Miles said. “It’s very discouraging for our student athletes.
“We have a squad with potentially the same players or new players every year,” Miles said. “It’s always gonna continue for us, but for the student athletes, they have a timeline.”
The restrictions imposed on college sports sparked outrage across campus, leading to a message posted by Humber Hawks on its social media, pleading that the government give athletes a chance to play.
The province determined that college players were non-elite athletes, therefore they were shut down immediately.
Miles was one of many who took great umbrage at the government’s portrayal of college athletes.
“The college level is elite, the university level is elite,” Miles said. “We have college players that have trained for the Olympics and played in the Olympics, and we have many college athletes that have gone pro.”
Santino De Bartolo, a first-year Hawks men’s soccer player, is one of many athletes who also took offence to the government’s decision.
“Here in Ontario they didn’t value the athletes and give us the option to play,” De Bartolo said. “There are players in their last year and many of us who are dying to get out there, it’s really frustrating since we’ve worked hard for this.”
He experienced a very limited time during the field in his first-year at Humber due to the pandemic. He said he was eager to continue striving for more after winning the national championship in Calgary with the Hawks last November.
De Bartolo said training during his time off was a challenge because of the lack of resources he and his teammates have to work with at home.
“There’s plenty of exercises an athlete can do by themselves with a bit of space, but I almost felt trapped in my own home with the lack of competitive setting. It was difficult to find the motivation to work out,” he said.
Vanessa Fiore, the starting goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team, hasn’t exactly enjoyed her time away from soccer, either.
“I’m really disappointed that this had to happen in my final-year,” she said. “Knowing that we might not have an indoor season, and we can’t even practice or use the facilities at Humber is very overwhelming.”
Fiore, who is currently playing goalie with the Woodbridge Strikers in semi-professional League 1 Ontario, said she is shocked the government does not recognize the level of competition among college athletes.
“It’s almost disgusting to say the least that they don’t value our athletes,” Fiore said. “There’s plenty of names that sign pro-contracts after leaving Humber, we have elite players and coaching staff, so it’s crazy to me how we are not considered elite.”
Fiore noted Humber softball coach Jaime Viera, who became the first female coach to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, as an example of excellence in college sports.
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association said there was no specific date for a return to action. Humber, however, expects athletes to return to training soon and potentially use campus facilities sometime this month.