By Jonathon Schaffer — Reporter
San Jose State has endured the hardships of fall and spring sports combining into one big spring season during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has not been as successful for a particular area of SJSU athletics.
Since the virus ravaged SJSU back in March of 2020, club sports have not seen their athletes play in a single contest in person.
Club sports supervisor Winston Adams did not sit back while his programs were in limbo. He attempted multiple times to convince the university that his athletes can play in a safe environment. However, the school never got back to him.
“It would have been nice to receive some comments back on it,” said Adams. “To have some holes picked through it so I can learn what I need to do to get us back into competition.”
Though Adams’ other programs have been shut down, one club sport has been thriving.
Esports, a virtual form of competition involving video games, made its debut for SJSU in the fall of 2019. When everything shut down, the league resumed operations virtually.
Adams said that since all other sports were shut down, he has been more involved with esports than he was before. The SJSU alum looks forward to adding that to his busy schedule once all club sports return in August.
Luckily for club sports, there has not been a financial issue because the teams are funded by the athletes. Therefore, with teams not playing, there is no money needed?Something like this.
However, that does not take into account that the athletes haven’t been playing the sports they love.
The overall recruiting process has also been a struggle amidst the pandemic.
Adams said each summer, club sports receives about 1,000 applications for various sports so tryouts can be conducted and teams can be solidified. Unfortunately with the ongoing pandemic, the latest summer only saw 40 applications. Adams added that this can make it a struggle to fill rosters when teams return to on-campus activities in August.
Junior Alejandro Mendoza played center for the SJSU men’s club soccer team for only one semester before his team was shut down.
Now the coaches have asked him to be one of the team’s leading role players since he is one of the few athletes returning to the lineup next season.
“It’s kind of a bummer because a lot of my friends were upper-division so they graduated throughout this past year and I wasn’t able to spend their last seasons with them,” said Mendoza.
Throughout the COVID-19 shutdown, Mendoza has kept in shape playing pickup soccer and in adult leagues before the team returns to play.
Senior Emily Fernandez is the current club president of the SJSU Salsa Club.
Salsa Club teaches students how to dance Salsa with some Bachata, Cumbia and Merengue to give the overall experience of the beautiful arts. The club also competes with other schools, but the pandemic has forbidden the club from any on-campus activities.
Salsa dancing is mainly a partnership activity and for Fernandez, it has been a struggle teaching her ways virtually over Zoom. However, the club leader has kept everyone resilient.
“We’ve been able to cope with being active online … I always try to ask how everyone is doing,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez has organized game nights and special online events for her club members, even having special guests in the salsa community all the way from New York teach their professional ways of salsa dancing.
“It really creates this type of a community despite the struggles we all have been going through,” said Fernandez.
As of now, the university has given the green light for all club sports to return to in-person activity on the first of August.
Though it has been an immense struggle for everyone in the COVID-19 pandemic, SJSU club sports have been hit hard with no in-person matchups in over a year.
Nonetheless, with the right measures and commitment to safety, SJSU will see all sports back in person, club and D-I.
Follow Jonathon on Twitter @jonny_schaffer
