COVID-19’s effect on athletic events and recruitment

One side effect of COVID-19 is the cancellation of spring athletic and recruitment events for the duration of the spring 2020 semester. Here’s what that means for the LHU Field Hockey team.

Lock Haven University field hockey, like most athletic teams at LHU, use their off semester to stay in shape for the next season, host camps, plan recruitment events, and join tournaments. While the field hockey team was able to play its full fall season, a major part of the year has been cancelled.

Pat Rudy, LHU Field Hockey’s head coach, explained that COVID-19 has affected their recruiting process dramatically. There typically are two clinics held in addition to their annual seven vs. seven tournaments, which was scheduled for May.

Rudy said, “These events give us [an opportunity] to watch the recruits play on our playing surface against good competition in lots of games.”

LHU field hockey also had to cancel several official and unofficial campus recruiting visits that were planned for spring semester.

In addition, the team typically sponsors an annual summer camp. The camp lasts for four days and includes three training sessions per day, with about 100 campers in attendance. Current players work the camp, and most of the team’s prospects attend the camp to compete for a spot. Not only is it a great way to watch potential team members, but all of the funds raised by the camp go into the team’s scholarship account.

Rudy said: “We really depend on all these events for scholarship dollars for our players. This is really going to have a detrimental effect on our program financially as well as putting us in at a disadvantage in the recruiting process.”