The global pandemic temporarily paused our sports programs, but Asphalt Green athletes are getting creative to stay connected to their game. Hear how athletes from all of our sports programs are staying in mental and physical shape from home.  

Roshan Gopal, Asphalt Green Travel Basketball, 13U

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I have done online workouts with my team and my own workouts.
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? My training has consisted of running, dribbling, and form shooting.
  3. What is your routine? I run one to two miles three times a week, online workout with my Asphalt Green team twice a week, other basketball drills three times a week, and pushups at night before I go to sleep.
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? The main difference is the isolation. I am normally surrounded by my team when I practice. However, I am still doing some of the same drills.
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? I have kept in touch with my team through online meetings and group chats.
  6. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? My drive to get better and my love of the game have provided me with the motivation to continue to practice.
  7. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? Staying connected to basketball has given me something to do during quarantine and has helped me stay positive and healthy.
  8. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It has been challenging not being able to get in-game experience and shoot on a real basketball hoop. I have overcome these challenges by playing on my mini-hoop and watching lots of old NBA games.

Benjamin G., Asphalt Green Travel Basketball, 12U

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? Throughout the past few months I have been going to a local court to practice various drills and exercises.
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? I have been running more often and I have also started playing other sports like tennis, which helps my endurance. 
  3. What is your routine? I shoot 100 free throws every day. I also have been working on dribbling and pulling up into a shooting motion.
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? It’s different that you can’t play against other kids. It’s similar in the sense that you can continue working on your skills and improving.
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? We did virtual workouts together to keep in touch.
  6. How have you adapted to training at home? I have started using different resources while working out.
  7. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? Staying in shape and also being ready to resume playing next season.
  8. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? It helps me stay positive and continue working to improve my game. 
  9. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It’s hard to improve without coaches instruction. I have been watching online videos to add variation to my exercise.

Abraham F., Asphalt Green Travel Basketball, 10U

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I’ve been playing at my grandma’s house, at a park in New Jersey, and a trainer helped train me, even without nets. 
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? At home I do the Asphalt Green 10U workouts and play on the small basketball hoop over my door. 
  3. What is your routine? My routine is to play basketball outside, do Asphalt Green travel team workouts, and school gym workouts.
  4. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? I kept in touch by doing travel team workouts and playing with teammates every once in a while. 
  5. How have you adapted to training at home? I watch a lot of NBA2K videos at home
  6. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I stay motivated to train because I want to become the third best basketball player ever.
  7. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? Most people are not working as hard as I am. I want to stay in shape, stay strong, and keep working.
  8. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It’s been challenging because a lot of my friends haven’t been working out and that is tempting. But I want to achieve my dream.

Isabella C., AGUA Swim Team 

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I have been swimming for AGUA since I was 6 years old. We have dealt with Sandy and some snowstorms but nothing this catastrophic. I have stayed connected with my swim team via Zoom. It has been something I really look forward to each week. I miss swimming so much!
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? I have done most of my training through these Zoom calls. We have been doing 45-to 60-minute workouts (swimmers call it dryland). I also do some working out while watching TV before or after dinner. Further, I have facetimed with my group of friends to talk about life.
  3. What is your routine? In June, I was lucky enough to get access to a pool and be able to swim for a country club team in Ohio four times a week. Their practices are not as challenging, but it is really nice to get into the water. They also have swim meets every week, which are virtual. Both teams swim at their own pool and compare times to limit the number of people interacting with each other. It is something I am not used to.
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? Even with this [new environmet], something is missing. I realized it was my teammates and coaches! Throughout swim practice, we push each other to do the best we can. I think that this spirit is what I miss most. I think the feeling of accomplishment after a hard workout will always be there, even after my years on AGUA. I am motivated to keep going because of the great season I had in the winter. I know that there is so much more I can achieve. 
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? I think that it is really important to stay connected to my swim team because it helps me stay focused and keep my schedule in line. Before COVID-19 hit, I had a really tight schedule. Now, when I have nothing but time, I envy my old self.
  6. What keeps you motivated? I don’t think I am as motivated to do my work as before. I learned that I work better when I am worrying about whether I will have enough time to do my homework. Staying connected has helped me a little because I try to finish all of my work before dryland Zoom calls. 
  7. How has it been challenging? How have you overcome these challenges? Not being with my teammates has been challenging on many levels, but I know that one day in the future we will be able to see each other again.

Zach L., AGUA Swim Team

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? By watching swim videos on YouTube and by training as hard as I can.
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? Dryland workouts.
  3. What’s is your routine? My favorite routine is planks because I feel like it is a challenge but not so hard that I can’t do it.
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? I actually feel that Zoom is more connected in a way because you can’t be left out as you can if you are on deck.
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates?  By Zoom and FaceTime.
  6. How have you adapted to training at home? I don’t really think I really adapted to anything because I want to be the best I can be, so after swim practice I would come home and watch videos and I’ll always train as hard as I can whereever I am.
  7. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I love the sport and I want to be back to level I was at when we go back. One of my fears is that I won’t be as good as I was. 
  8. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? Being connected to AGUA makes me feel happy because I love it there, I make friends, and it is fun. 
  9. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It’s been challenging not being in a pool every day, but I just keep training every day.

Hank F., Asphalt Green Travel Basketball, 12U

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I have mostly stayed connected by playing basketball at my grandma’s house where there is a great hoop outside and by working on my skills in the neighborhood.
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? I do stretching at home
  3. What is your routine? I see some of my teammates in the parks, and I play NBA2K, Fortnite, GTA, and Madden with them.
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? I decided I wanted to be able to dunk in seventh grade, so I set that as a goal and kept trying until I succeeded. I probably went 5 for 500 on dunk attempts, but now I can do it.
  5. How have you adapted to training at home? My new goal is to lose five pounds of fat and put on five to 10 pounds of muscle through weight training and exercise.
  6. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I stay motivated because I know I’ll get to show off my new skills
  7. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? My next goal is to get my vertical leap/my bunnies a bit higher.
  8. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It has been challenging because I can’t play real games. I get through by playing mini competitions with my brother and my family and friends

Tristan P., AGUA Swim Team  

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I’ve stayed connected to the sport by staying in contact with my team through Zoom and social media. 
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? I’ve been doing a mixture of cardio and weightlifting.  
  3. What is your routine? I start with a biking session where I aim to hit a solid heart rate for over an hour. Then later, I lift weights and stretch.  
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? My training is different because obviously I can’t swim or lift alongside my teammates, however, I try to replicate the exercises done in dryland and the aerobic endurance training in the pool.  
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? I’ve mostly stayed in touch through Zoom and social media, and I’ve seen a few in person, 6 feet away of course.  
  6. How have you adapted to training at home? I’ve adapted by getting my hands on a bike, adjustable weights, and other fun toys.  
  7. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I’m motivated to train so that I’m in better shape than others when I return to the pool.  
  8. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? Swimming is a huge part of our lives, and we’ve all made huge sacrifices to get where we are. If we lose connection to the sport, we aren’t being fair to ourselves in the sense that we are letting an unfortunate situation take control of our future.  
  9. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? The sense of uncertainty is challenging. I’ve been disappointed with the delays in reopening, and I’ve felt like quitting. I got past this by taking it one day at a time and overcoming each challenge as it comes. 

Nikko T., AGUA Swim Team

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? During quarantine I have been reviewing many of my swim videos, watching other swimming technique videos, and frequently texting/talking with my teammates.  
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? I have been doing Zoom dryland with Coach Matt, and my own extra dryland and stretching on the days I don’t have Zoom.  
  3. What is your routine? My routine usually consists of 10 minutes of stretching and then 45-60 minutes of dryland. I do that for four days straight, then take a rest day and start again.  
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? My exercise is different from being in person because I can focus a little more on what I’m doing instead of the other people around me, but I don’t have my teammates to motivate me. My dryland is similar because it is still challenging, and I try to do some of the same exercises that I would do at AGUA.  
  5. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? I have been frequently texting/calling with my teammates.  
  6. How have you adapted to training at home? I have adapted to being at home by doing my own dryland, and since I can’t swim, I try to stretch a lot to stay flexible.  
  7. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I’m motivated to train because I know that there will be a time when I can get back in the water for swimming, and whatever I can do to make that an easier transition back, I try to do.  
  8. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? I think it’s really important to stay connected to your sport, because it’s a really large portion of (normal-ish) life, and the more you disconnect from it, the more you lose interest. It has helped me to stay connected to my sport because I have a lot of friends through swimming, and I can always talk to them. It’s also helped because while in quarantine, I don’t have much to do, so having swimming-related things to keep me occupied is kind of nice.  
  9. What are the challenges? Motivating myself to get up and get off the screen to do dryland or something else swimming related was really hard because I just wanted to be lazy and not be active, but I’m trying to overcome that by limiting the amount of time I spend on the screen/reading/playing and trying to spend more time on more important things. 

Will T., Asphalt Green Travel Basketball Team, 11U

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? My brother, Zach, and I watch a lot of old basketball clips on YouTube; we also play a lot of one-on-one and the video game NBA 2K20.   
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? We are lucky to have a half court where we live. We have been training with two different coaches three times per week for one and a half to two hours each day. It has been really hard but really good.  
  3. What is your routine? Coach Gabe, a basketball player at Wesleyan, gave me a workout to do every other morning. I try to do it at least two times per week. I play on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday with Gabe and my brother Zach. I also play on Tuesday and Friday with another coach, Mike Atkinson, who helps train the Knicks G-League team. He’s also great. I do these lessons with my older brother’s friends – Finn, Luke, Dennis and Jesse. It’s good practice for me to play against the older kids (and Luke says I’m third best).  
  4. How is it different from training/playing in person? How is it similar? I’ve been lucky to have a court and a group to train with, but I miss my coaches and teammates.  
  5.  How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates?  I have kept in touch with a couple teammates (Julian and Pascal), and my mom keeps in touch with the coaches. 
  6.  How have you adapted to training at home? I like training at home; I always tell my mom that I want to do more hours, but I still really miss Asphalt Green. 
  7. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? I feel like I’m getting better; I can see myself getting better and stronger – I can’t wait to get back out there to show how I’ve improved!  
  8. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? How has it helped you? I love basketball! I haven’t found another sport I really love.  
  9. In what ways has it been challenging? How have you overcome challenges? It was challenging at first; I missed our team and practices so much (still do). I have been super lucky to have a court and to have Zach’s friends to play with. 

 

Saavan G., Asphalt Green Travel Basketball Team, 11U 

  1. How have you stayed connected to your sport since March? I have been doing online drills at home with my Asphalt Green team and practicing with my brother. 
  2. What type of training have you been doing at home? Ball handling, agility exercises, and running. I do ball handling online two days a week and Asphalt Green team workouts two days a week as well. 
  3. How is it different from training/playing in person? I didn't have the same space to practice and no teammates to work with. It's similar in that I was am still able to do some of the same drills that we did in regular practices. 
  4. How have you kept in touch with your coaches and teammates? We had zoom workouts with our coaches and team twice a week  
  5. How have you adapted to training at home? I learned to modify some drills to do at home and in smaller spaces. 
  6. What keeps you motivated to continue to train? My love of the game and the drive to get better. 
  7. Why is it important to stay connected to your sport during this time? It is important because I do not want to lose the skills that I have.  
  8. How has it helped you? It has helped me to stay positive and keep my mind off the pandemic. 
  9. In what ways has it been challenging? It has been challenging to get enough practice.