St. John's University Athletics
The New Normal: Johnnies Adjust in the Time of COVID
10/8/2020 9:47:00 AM | General, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer
Madsen and Aviza make the most of difficult circumstances in return to play
The news hit Mike Madsen like a ton of bricks. In the middle of a promising senior campaign, the BIG EAST's leading scorer learned that the season would be cut short. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the nation, it looked like his collegiate lacrosse career had come to a premature end.
"It was heartbreaking," said Madsen. "We really thought we were going to be done for good at that point. We actually went around, said our goodbyes to the team, had our senior sendoff in the locker room. There were a lot of tears, lot of unknowns, maybe a little bit of hope that we would get this eligibility back, but no one really expected it, so it was tough at first. That week was definitely an emotional week."
Isabelle Aviza was still near the beginning of her collegiate playing tenure, but it didn't make the news any easier to hear. Coming off a debut campaign that saw her earn a place on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, Aviza's first spring in Queens was over before it even really got started.
"I was pretty shocked," remembered Aviza about that fateful week in March. "We kind of knew what was going on, but I didn't know it was going to impact us like that, send us home, stop us from playing soccer. I just went home and I didn't really know what to do. We were in a good groove of things, developing for the spring season and it all kind of stopped."
Like so many college students around the nation, Madsen and Aviza returned home not sure what would come next. Madsen, whose twin brother Joe is also a standout player for the Red Storm, made the short drive from Queens to Long Island's Locust Valley and thought about the future.
Madsen, a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection as a junior, also excelled in the classroom and by the fall of his senior year had already secured a full-time job offer in the insurance industry. When he received the opportunity after completing an internship, Madsen put himself in the small contingent of college seniors who knew exactly what they would be doing after walking across the stage at graduation. But when the NCAA announced that all spring sport athletes would recoup their year of eligibility, it did not take Madsen long to trade that professional certainty for another shot at playing the game he loved.
"On the one hand I had a job offer lined up, on the other hand, getting that season ripped away from me, not jumping on that opportunity to come back would have been crazy," said Madsen. "For me it was a no-brainer. I was coming back. I had to finish my career here."
After resolving the question of where he would be when the new school year started, Madsen and his twin brother, who would also be returning for the 2021 season, got to work. While most people used quarantine as an excuse to eat poorly and reignite a dormant relationship with Netflix, the Madsens doubled down on the work ethic that had already made them some of the BIG EAST's most talented teammates.
"There was a good month, month and a half span where we were doing nothing but working out every day, fine-tuning our diet and doing body weight workouts all day," said Mike. "I was coming back for a reason. I didn't want to waste my time. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this right. That's the reason I'm here. I'm here to play lacrosse and I want to be at my full potential."
Like Madsen, Aviza relied on her family to help keep her game sharp. The youngest of four children, Isabelle is the fourth Aviza child to play college soccer. Isolating at home in Massachusetts with her oldest brother John, who played soccer at Assumption College, and her sister Shannon, a senior at Syracuse, the Aviza family backyard doubled as a training ground. Twice a day the trio would condition and practice while gyms and public fields were still off-limits.
"I definitely would have rather been with the women's soccer team at St. John's, but it wasn't bad for what it was worth," said Aviza.
Following their long stays at home, Aviza and Madden, along with hundreds of other St. John's student-athletes, returned to Queens in August. Neither was required to complete a two-week quarantine as some out-of-state athletes were, but the resocialization process was nevertheless trying for both.
While certainly excited to be back after months away, Aviza quickly learned that things weren't like they were before March. Practices and workouts were restricted to groups of no more than a few teammates. Whole-team activities would be weeks away and in-person social interaction outside of one's roommates was discouraged in the strictest of terms.
"You can only be around a certain amount of people, so that was kind of frustrating at first," said Aviza. "But once soccer picked up, you were kind of reminded that this is what we're doing it for. I'm doing it for my team, for these other people. I'm not doing it for myself. It was definitely frustrating in the beginning, but now that we're a month or so in, it's fine. It's our new life."
Madsen echoed a similar sentiment about making necessary sacrifices for the common good. In all situations outside of the most strenuous physical activity, St. John's students are required to wear a mask. While New Yorkers like Madsen have grown accustomed to wearing masks in all aspects of public life, covering your mouth and nose during exercise can be taxing for even the best conditioned athletes. Regardless, Madsen wouldn't let a small piece of cloth stop him from getting on the field.
"It's an adjustment, but at this point it's kind of like second nature," said Madsen. "We're used to it. It's protocol to put your mask on and get out there.
"They could tell me whatever they want and I'll wear it, as long as I'm on the field. It's kind of been the motto this year, things are different, but anything it takes to be on the field we'll do."
Madsen thought he had lost it all once and he is not taking his second chance for granted.
"We get to go to another year of school, another year of living with our friends," said Madsen. "We would be sitting at a desk or sitting at home in our basement on conference calls all day, and now we get an opportunity to come back and do what we love, play lacrosse for another year and kind of reset the whole season."
"It was heartbreaking," said Madsen. "We really thought we were going to be done for good at that point. We actually went around, said our goodbyes to the team, had our senior sendoff in the locker room. There were a lot of tears, lot of unknowns, maybe a little bit of hope that we would get this eligibility back, but no one really expected it, so it was tough at first. That week was definitely an emotional week."
Isabelle Aviza was still near the beginning of her collegiate playing tenure, but it didn't make the news any easier to hear. Coming off a debut campaign that saw her earn a place on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, Aviza's first spring in Queens was over before it even really got started.
"I was pretty shocked," remembered Aviza about that fateful week in March. "We kind of knew what was going on, but I didn't know it was going to impact us like that, send us home, stop us from playing soccer. I just went home and I didn't really know what to do. We were in a good groove of things, developing for the spring season and it all kind of stopped."
Like so many college students around the nation, Madsen and Aviza returned home not sure what would come next. Madsen, whose twin brother Joe is also a standout player for the Red Storm, made the short drive from Queens to Long Island's Locust Valley and thought about the future.
Madsen, a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection as a junior, also excelled in the classroom and by the fall of his senior year had already secured a full-time job offer in the insurance industry. When he received the opportunity after completing an internship, Madsen put himself in the small contingent of college seniors who knew exactly what they would be doing after walking across the stage at graduation. But when the NCAA announced that all spring sport athletes would recoup their year of eligibility, it did not take Madsen long to trade that professional certainty for another shot at playing the game he loved.
"On the one hand I had a job offer lined up, on the other hand, getting that season ripped away from me, not jumping on that opportunity to come back would have been crazy," said Madsen. "For me it was a no-brainer. I was coming back. I had to finish my career here."
After resolving the question of where he would be when the new school year started, Madsen and his twin brother, who would also be returning for the 2021 season, got to work. While most people used quarantine as an excuse to eat poorly and reignite a dormant relationship with Netflix, the Madsens doubled down on the work ethic that had already made them some of the BIG EAST's most talented teammates.
"There was a good month, month and a half span where we were doing nothing but working out every day, fine-tuning our diet and doing body weight workouts all day," said Mike. "I was coming back for a reason. I didn't want to waste my time. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this right. That's the reason I'm here. I'm here to play lacrosse and I want to be at my full potential."
Like Madsen, Aviza relied on her family to help keep her game sharp. The youngest of four children, Isabelle is the fourth Aviza child to play college soccer. Isolating at home in Massachusetts with her oldest brother John, who played soccer at Assumption College, and her sister Shannon, a senior at Syracuse, the Aviza family backyard doubled as a training ground. Twice a day the trio would condition and practice while gyms and public fields were still off-limits.
"I definitely would have rather been with the women's soccer team at St. John's, but it wasn't bad for what it was worth," said Aviza.
Following their long stays at home, Aviza and Madden, along with hundreds of other St. John's student-athletes, returned to Queens in August. Neither was required to complete a two-week quarantine as some out-of-state athletes were, but the resocialization process was nevertheless trying for both.
While certainly excited to be back after months away, Aviza quickly learned that things weren't like they were before March. Practices and workouts were restricted to groups of no more than a few teammates. Whole-team activities would be weeks away and in-person social interaction outside of one's roommates was discouraged in the strictest of terms.
"You can only be around a certain amount of people, so that was kind of frustrating at first," said Aviza. "But once soccer picked up, you were kind of reminded that this is what we're doing it for. I'm doing it for my team, for these other people. I'm not doing it for myself. It was definitely frustrating in the beginning, but now that we're a month or so in, it's fine. It's our new life."
Madsen echoed a similar sentiment about making necessary sacrifices for the common good. In all situations outside of the most strenuous physical activity, St. John's students are required to wear a mask. While New Yorkers like Madsen have grown accustomed to wearing masks in all aspects of public life, covering your mouth and nose during exercise can be taxing for even the best conditioned athletes. Regardless, Madsen wouldn't let a small piece of cloth stop him from getting on the field.
"It's an adjustment, but at this point it's kind of like second nature," said Madsen. "We're used to it. It's protocol to put your mask on and get out there.
"They could tell me whatever they want and I'll wear it, as long as I'm on the field. It's kind of been the motto this year, things are different, but anything it takes to be on the field we'll do."
Madsen thought he had lost it all once and he is not taking his second chance for granted.
"We get to go to another year of school, another year of living with our friends," said Madsen. "We would be sitting at a desk or sitting at home in our basement on conference calls all day, and now we get an opportunity to come back and do what we love, play lacrosse for another year and kind of reset the whole season."
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