Orangeburg, S.C. – Social Distancing has forced colleges and universities to go to a virtual environment and Claflin University is no exception. Outside of essential personnel, the university, including its athletics department, has moved to work from home. While working at home may only change slightly from an in-person environment for some departments, athletics change is a bit more drastic.
 
The success of athletics primarily depends on daily practice and playing, as well as coaches and staff interacting with their student-athletes. But with a virtual environment, Claflin athletics has had to adapt to the new norm, from its administrators down to its student-athletes. How does a department whose success depends on in-person interaction manage to stay engaged with its student-athletes and constituents when social-distance limits in-person contact? Several different ways.
 
These sentiments were expressed by members of the department and student-athletes.
 
Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Marilynn Stacey-Suggs stated, "Working from home is not my choice but due to circumstances, it has affected my autonomy and sense of control. The most fundamental changes have been: while I was already working straight through the day, being at home means the work is always present, and have had to force myself to walk away from it [work] at a reasonable time of the evening (before I would go home)."
 
While working in-person, students would visit various offices within the department daily -- not just their coach -- to ensure they are on track with their academics, health, and well-being, which is not possible virtually.
 
"I miss the student-athlete contact and face time with them," said Stacey-Suggs. "I was able to see faces that are being applauded or facing challenges or have questions, but with them having to tell me via technology is sometimes or even rarely seamless. I have learned new technologies to help such as FaceTime, Zoom and Microsoft Teams."
 
"Working from home has been challenging for me, but after three weeks, I have learned to adjust," said the department's Athletics Program Senior Support Technician, Priscilla Cramer. "It's like training your mind to do something different quickly from your normal routine. I had to learn how to stay focused because being at home can easily be distracting, but with the help of my husband, who calls me every day to ensure that I'm at my workstation, which I always am, I've managed to adapt.  Overall, I missed the social interactions with my co-workers, the students, and staff, but coming to the office once or twice a week helps me to stay connected at my workplace."
 
Due to the students having to complete their semester online, academics is perhaps the section within the department that has been affected the most.
 
"My day-to-day communications with the students have still been good, just missing the face-to-face interactions," said Athletic Academic Advisor/ Academic Student Support Counselor Akeem Boneparte. "When it comes to academics, this has really been an eye-opener, having to make sure the students are utilizing all the help the campus has to offer for them and doing it virtually." 
 
When the cancellation of play was announced by the NCAA, the spring sports were in the midst of their season, but the stoppage means no in-person senior day, no chance for post-season championships or to earn a berth or place in the NCAA regionals or championships for the student-athletes.  
 
Claflin staff and coaches have found various ways to stay engaged with the student-athletes and the community. The athletics department has used social media and its website as its main avenues of communication. One such campaign was a virtual student-athlete week (Apr. 6-10). The week kicked off with the department honoring 117 student-athletes during National Student-Athlete Day on April 6. All student-athletes who achieved a 3.0 grade point average or better were honored. Various events were displayed via social media throughout the remainder of the week. The department will virtually spotlight senior members of the spring sports teams over the next week beginning Tuesday, Apr. 20.
 
Another challenging part of social distancing from the coach's standpoint is the inability to reach out to potential student-athletes in-person. The NCAA has extended its dead period which limits coach-prospective student-athletes. The coaches also had to come up with a means of interaction with their current student-athletes. This is especially challenging for the spring sports coaches who have seen their season come to an early end. Panther coaches, however, have managed to find ways to communicate with current and future Panthers.
 
    I engage with the current athletes by doing follow up calling, through group me?? to send out mass texts on information that
    the athletics department wants them to know such as scholarship information from the financial aid office. [Recruiting] I call
    the recruits and do a follow-up on their eligibility center information as well as they have applied to Claflin University and
    make sure they have their transcripts and test scores in the appropriate places. ~Garon Jackson, Head Coach Cross-
    Country/Track and Field.

    I stay engaged with our current student-athletes through GroupMe app updating them daily on the number of deaths this virus     has caused each day to bring awareness of the importance of social distance. Recruiting is challenging, this is prime time for
    recruiting in the sport of baseball, so making phone calls, and having additional contacts helps. ~James Randall, Head
    Baseball Coach.
 
    We reach out throughout the week to ensure that things are still going well for them [current student-athletes].   
    We also keep them up to date on any final dates with housing and registration. With our 2021 class, we
    continue to keep them up to date on what we are doing as well as continue to get updates on what they are
    doing. We continue to get film from prospective student-athletes which we evaluate to see if they are a good fit
    for our program both academically and athletically. Phone calls, texting, and emailing have been our method of
    contact right now and hopefully, once social distancing has come to an end, we will get out and see some     softball. ~Marty Kinard, Head Softball Coach. 
 
Prior to the cancellation, the Claflin softball team, baseball team and track and field teams were well into the season. With a sudden stoppage, the student-athletes had to find ways to past the time that otherwise would have been taken up with practice and competition.
 
"Though my season has been cut short, I have still been making sure that I stay active (doing some form of physical activity once a day," women's track and field athlete Faith McKie said. "I have also been using this time inside to take a much-needed mental break from my normally hectic schedule at school. Lastly, this has been a great time to bond with my immediate family and revisit old pastimes of mine (cooking, practicing makeup, etc.)."
 
For now, the department has implemented daily office hours (10 am-12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm) where the community and supporters can reach out to get their questions answered and find out what is going on with Panther athletics. All staff members are available via e-mail throughout the day. In addition, the athletics website and social media outlets will continually be a source of information. The website can be accessed by visiting athletics.claflin.edu (no www).