As Covid unleashed itself in 2020, the Huskies were not ready for a tough year ahead.

 

In 2019, the George Brown College (GBC) Huskies gave fans a rush of adrenaline with every game, feeding off the cheer of the crowd.

No one knew that things were about to take a drastic turn, altering the course of upcoming seasons.

As the pandemic hit, the world stopped, and havoc unleashed.

For students it meant an abrupt shutdown of the college leaving them with nothing but questions. Along with the cluelessness that COVID-19 brought, the sudden brakes pulled on everything also meant a pause on their passion for GBC Huskies.

The news struck after a successful sports season of 2019-2020 for the Huskies.

“The pre-pandemic was an experience that I’ll always want to relive. The support from the crowd, from the staff, from my teammates, and again, from the coaches,” said Angelique Augustin, a former player and current assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team.

As the athletes were getting circled by the restrictions, varsity players looked for ways to continue their training and trying not to be affected by COVID.

The team meetings went virtual, and the training became personal instead of working out as a team. As gyms closed, the Huskies were in survival mode with home workouts and balancing their meals.

Transitioning from pre-covid to the covid era was hard for the athletes and affected their mental and physical health.

“In general, with gyms closing, there was no space to practice, no one knew me. So, it was definitely a really hard transition to get used to,” added Augustin.

Practice sessions became less competitive as compared to the pre-pandemic levels. All athletes could do was take care of themselves, their bodies and health, which was ensured by Daphne Choi, the team’s head coach.

Most of the Huskies, including Augustin, who were playing before pandemic had graduated by the time the chaos started to end. However, Augustin was given the opportunity to be the assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team after playing with them four years.

Many others did not get a chance to play their last season, making it tough to say goodbye to the various opportunities they couldn’t experience.

As normal life began to resume in 2021, the Huskies were ready for their coming season and GBC was quick to provide training facilities for the athletes again.

With proper protocol followed, athletes started training at the St. James Campus. When the 200 king St. building caught on fire, training moved to Casa Loma, which is now the athletics hub for GBC.

There still were many restrictions as Huskies welcomed new athletes. Communication became one of the biggest challenges.

“I think a lot of a lot of communication was tarnished by COVID. For example, last year, in the 2021-22 season, we were hosting varsity games, communication was the key. But it was hard because a lot of people were used to COVID and virtual meetings. Especially with some of our newer athletes, it was such a time for them to come in and develop those communication skills that they didn’t have a chance to do. There was a lot of anxiety and stress that went into communication,” said Joshua Vatcher, the athletic events and promotion coordinator at GBC.

In December 2021, as COVID-19 cases started rising again, restrictions were re-imposed once again, and the varsity season ended early.

But the Huskies have now come back strong as ever with more passion, more preparation and especially more love for what they do.

As the pandemic breathes its last breath; the world is flourishing once again and so are the Huskies.

GBC sports are more than ready for the new season and things have picked up quite fast. The training is rigorous, the passion for winning is higher than ever.

The varsity season for volleyball and basketball has already started.

“We don’t have to do the building access anymore. People can just come in. So, we’re excited to get the Huskies community back up and running. We know there’s a lot of nervousness that comes with that. The teams are very excited to have fans back in the stands!” stated Vatcher.