Unless someone has been living under a rock for the past eight months, it is pretty well known that there are no sports at Oswego State. Without access to athletic facilities, the athletes and coaches have the tall task of keeping fit, mentally and physically, throughout this extended offseason. 

Raiven Encarnacion, a senior on the women’s basketball team, said she finds it very difficult to stay connected with her teammates. This pandemic has changed the way that people interact with each other, and for her, the best way to keep connected is to make sure everyone stays fit.

“It is very difficult right now because it is getting colder so there is not much we can do outside,” Encarnacion said. “When it was warm we were running and jump-roping. Mentally it is tough. There is not really much you can do besides stay positive and hope for the best so you have to try to keep your body in shape.”

Encarnacion knows that not everyone may have access to the gym and said that it is OK. She has made it clear to her teammates that wherever they need help, whenever they need help, she will be there to keep their heads up and assist them.

“It is going to be tough for everyone,” Encarnacion said. “You don’t have access to a gym to do drills so you may come back super rusty. But everyone will. I just tell them to stay positive and keep doing what you have to do until we are able to get back on the court. I am definitely someone you can come to if you need help with something. I will stay there with you and shoot until our arms fall off.”

For senior Philomena Teggart of the women’s hockey team, she embraces the challenge of not seeing her teammates and knows that the only thing she can do right now is to guide her team through the “mental game.”

“We talk about the physical aspect a lot, and it is good to keep that up,” Teggart said. “But what we are focused on right now is the mental aspect. We are not on the ice, and it is hard because there are other teams in our division who are playing and we are sitting here separated in our home towns. We are playing our mental game.”

Encarnacion and the basketball team are playing other types of games to stay connected and build team chemistry during their weekly Zoom meetings. Even though they have their fun, Encarnacion stresses that these meetings are also a good way to bond with her teammates.

“It is really tough to keep communicating,” Encarnacion said. “Coach [Sean Pinkerton] did create a game night, and once a week we would play Family Feud on Zoom and that was fun but with the season being canceled completely it is very tough. It is very important to make sure the girls know me and get to know each other off the court.”

Being a leader is about so much more than taking charge on the court or the ice, it is about earning respect and proper communication with your teammates. Teggart credits her leadership skills to former captain, Kate Randazzo, and said that without her help, she would not have found as much success.

“I was led by Kate Randazzo, and I always looked up to her,” Teggart said. “We always competed on the ice at practice, and we were actually [defensive] partners. Kate molded me into what I am now because I was a little crazy and outgoing and she was the total opposite but she definitely helped me get to where I am today as a senior.”

It is important to look toward the future during this time and know that when Teggart and the women’s hockey team can get back on the ice, they can finally chase their goals as a team with perfect chemistry. Much of that is a credit to the relationship that the leaders have with their coaches because of the faith they have in each other. Teggart and head coach Mark Digby have that same relationship which has helped the team grow together over the past couple of years into the contender they wish to become.

“The most interesting thing is that before the year started, if we had to pick one thing that Phi had to work on, it would be balancing out her intensity and her communication,” Digby said. “She is somebody who plays the way her personality is. You get that from her all the time. I think going through this, she has learned a lot about herself, she has learned a lot about how to lead people and she has really stepped it up in terms of her ability to communicate with people. She certainly stepped up with all of that and it has been a lot of fun to see.”

Photos from Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian