Oct. 6, 2021

After a year and a half of COVID-19-related setbacks and cancellations, Carley Uddenberg and her Seneca Sting teammates are getting a kick out of playing soccer again — and hoping to regain their momentum toward a championship.

“COVID-19 took soccer away from us and everyone hated that feeling,” said the co-captain of the Sting women’s soccer team, ranked No. 1 in Ontario and No. 3 in Canada. “Being here right now, compared to where we were last year, gives us the motivation to play and work hard.”

This fall term marks the return of varsity sports since they were put on hold in March 2020. While it’s a shorter season overall, and training camp was reduced to a week from the usual month, student athletes are just happy to be back in action.

“We are so excited to be together again and play as a team,” said Ms. Uddenberg, an Early Childhood Education graduate, now in her third year of the Honours Bachelor of Child Development degree program. “We used to see each other every day and spend the whole day together, depending on our schedules. It has been really great to reconnect.”

Ms. Uddenberg, who also plays for the Saint Kitts and Nevis women’s national football team, credits the Sting coaches and Seneca Athletics & Recreation employees for helping varsity athletes stay on track and in shape during the pandemic.

“The coaches and support staff members made it possible for us behind the scenes,” she said. “We had fitness and strengthening sessions over Zoom. They helped us get our jogs in and kept us moving. Even now, we have athletic therapy and a lot of resources. From technical to fitness, everything’s covered.”

The varsity season-opener last month saw the Sting men’s baseball team defeating the Durham Lords 9-5.

“Everything we went through in the last year and a half kind of went away when that first pitch was thrown,” said John Sharpe, Manager, Varsity & Operations. “The students missed sport, missed competing and missed their teammates. They missed Seneca.”

A total of 117 student athletes and 23 coaches at Seneca are involved in six fall sports this term. Teams are playing across the Greater Toronto Area, and all games are off campus.

“It’s a really unique year,” Mr. Sharpe said. “They love what they do, and they want to compete and represent Seneca. We have our tents with logos and signs. Our music is playing, and our home announcer is there. Everywhere we go, we try to make it feel like it’s their home facility.”

With the fall season well underway with baseball, softball, rugby and soccer, student athletes who compete in indoor sports during the winter are hoping they, too, will resume playing in January.

Jay McNeilly is the head coach of the Sting men’s basketball team, which captured the national championship in 2018 and won bronze provincially in March 2020, before the pandemic cancelled the nationals.

“Momentum is a big thing in sports,” Mr. McNeilly said. “When you are out for almost two years, you lose that.”

To help support his athletes during the pandemic, Mr. McNeilly has been leading meetings multiple times a week on Zoom, as well as offering strength conditioning activities and life sessions on mental health and wellness.

“Our guys are great — good attendance, good attitude,” said Mr. McNeilly, who plans to start a book club and give his players a break from Zoom.

“We don’t know what it’s going to look like at the other end, and it’ll be a challenge to see where we are at when we return,” he added. “We worked on our system for play, defence and momentum. Hopefully we can get in game shape and get back into that rhythm.”

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