It’s 7 a.m. on a Tuesday and Leila Al Dzheref, Class of 2022, is patiently waiting for her teammates to start football training, or what partly resembles training, during the pandemic. With a mask on, water bottle in hand and a ball by her feet, the women’s team co-captain is ready to play the game she loves.

“It’s super hard to breathe or run in a mask when it’s plus 40 [degrees Celsius] and the humidity’s killing and you’re sweating all over … but if we love the thing we do, that is playing football, we need to make the most out of it even if we are framed by these regulations,” said the football aficionado.

This semester has posed a unique challenge to NYU Abu Dhabi intercollegiate sports teams, who are used to in person trainings and games. Without regular practices throughout the week and games for the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League, coaches and captains have turned to more creative initiatives, such as an Instagram meme page started by the men’s basketball team and Sunday Zoom breakfasts with the women’s football team.

“I definitely have to think on my feet a lot more. Obviously not being able to [meet] in person [has been more challenging], trying to find ways to engage or keep the team together … has led me to see things in a more creative way,” noted Lyne Ismail, Athletics Department Staff and Head Coach of the women’s football team. Along with the women’s basketball team, she has been organizing weekly fitness sessions on Zoom where female intercollegiate athletes come together to exercise with one another.

Image courtesy of Lyne Ismail

“[While] we stay connected with as many of the student athletes [as possible] … we’re sensitive to the fact that there’s a lot of Zoom fatigue and we want to make sure that students get away from the screens,” explained Peter Dicce, Director of the Athletics Department and Head Coach of the men’s football team.

While the women’s team organizes informal three on three games, the men’s football team has more impromptu workouts. “We try to encourage each other to go work out together. Say, if I’m going to the pool at 8:30 a.m. and I see other slots available, I’ll say [in the group chat], Hey boys, I’m going swimming and there [are] slots available. Who wants to join?” said Mauricio Yañez, Class of 2021 and co-captain of the men’s football team.

Huw Jones, Physical Preparation Coach, has also come up with a fitness challenge where team members have to log all their workouts and compete to see which team achieves the most hours. “We are giving people incentive … making them accountable to themselves and to their teammates to how much [exercise] they’re doing,” Jones added.

Although the Athletics Department has been working hard to make facilities available for students, many challenges remain that hinder teams from practicing normally. Access to equipment is prohibited, meaning that athletes have to bring their own balls from home. For the football teams, not being able to train on the pitches has also taken a toll as it is difficult to replicate the same training environment on concrete.

“Some of us … meet up and play casually. But it’s also not the safest for us to be playing on concrete. We can’t train the way we normally would because we don’t have access to all the resources we need,” lamented Netanya Keil, Class of 2021 and captain of the women’s volleyball team. She also worried that it would be difficult for some of the newer members, especially the first years, to be able to connect with everybody.

The efforts to keep up morale and engage the first years certainly haven’t gone unnoticed. “The football team has been lovely. For me it’s been sort of like my family away from home,” shared Nastja Gerlich, Class of 2024 and one of the few first year students residing on campus.

Director of Athletics, Pete Dicce shared that the Athletics Department is exploring creative, socially distanced ways to keep the community engaged, including an esports initiative where universities across Abu Dhabi can compete with each other through playing video games such as NBA 2K and FIFA.

“It allows us to do things a bit more internationally. There’s no reason schools from throughout the region can’t compete with us because it reduces cost and reduces travel,” said Dicce.

“Usually I would just see team sports as something in person or something lots of people can physically do… the esports program [allows] us to still have sports even though it’s online,” reflected Kyle Hudson, Class of 2022, captain of the men’s basketball team and an administrator in the esports tournament.

The Athletics Department also hosts the Sports Majlis, which are informal chats that invite alumni who were part of the intercollegiate community themselves to share their experiences.

“[Sports Majlis] go way beyond sports … I am not only being inspired, but also reconnecting with [alumni],” marvelled Mateo Cruz, Class of 2021 and co-captain of the men’s football team.

When asked if his perspective on team sports has changed, Yañez said: “The team’s spirit hasn't changed. We're still there for each other. And we're counting the days and keeping our heads up until the day that we can play again.”

While it is impossible to replace physical playing in a virtual setting, captains and coaches are doing their best to form tangible connections with their team members. At the end of the day, the intercollegiate community is more than just about playing sports, it is about catching up with each other over breakfast, sending memes to encourage each other and checking up on each other when the going gets tough; it’s about a family that loves and supports each other.

“As team players, we need to be there to listen to each other because we know that this situation the entire humanity is going through right now is really hard for most of us. Just knowing that someone is there for you on the pitch or just there to listen to you is very important,” added Al Dzheref.

To sum it all up, Jones had the following to say to his beloved intercollegiate community: “We miss you so much and we want to see you [soon].”