Cassadie Speed of Cranbury, NJ, poses with her dog.
Cassadie Speed
Freshman, Undecided
Cranbury, NJ
Posted May 11, 2020
One of the hardest things to cope with during this pandemic is my softball season ending. I had high hopes for having a successful season my freshman year, but now I am worried about our upcoming season.
Since we will be off for such a long period of time, I have to determine how I will stay active and improve my skills. However, it is difficult to improve my skills since I can only throw with my 11-year-old sister. She also has played softball since the age of 5, but she complains about my throws being too hard. Therefore, I can’t properly throw with someone until we are out of quarantine.
On the bright side I decided to stay active by joining the Nike Training App program, which consists of weekly workouts to complete. The program helps me stay motivated to workout at least 3-5 times a week. Staying in shape and healthy during quarantine has been one of my top priorities. If I don’t have a workout, then I am usually completing my college assignments, painting, working on puzzles, or walking my dogs.
Trying to keep myself busy until this quarantine lifts is key. I miss everyone at Penn State Beaver and I hope everyone is doing well.
Posted April 23, 2020
I am a freshman student-athlete on the varsity softball team. Most people got to go home for spring break, but the softball and baseball teams went to Myrtle Beach, SC. We played against other teams, met players from other states, and had lots of fun. I was enjoying every minute of it until we found out that our season was postponed. We originally thought we would be back after two weeks of self-quarantine. However, the coronavirus had other intentions and the rest of our season was canceled.
Being stuck at home is not easy at all. What makes matters even worse is that I live in New Jersey, which is the state with the second-most cases. I get that we should take matters very seriously, but it is very difficult to not be able to see friends or relatives.
My grandma lives by herself, so she has been feeling very lonely. I love her cooking and she has been willing to still cook meals for us. We would go to her house to pick up the meals, but on one occasion we sat on her porch and ate. She had to stay on the other side of her screen door while my mother and I ate on the porch. It’s so sad not spending time with her because she is like my best friend.
Besides missing my grandma, I miss playing softball. Not being able to play my freshman year is sad, but I feel sympathetic towards all seniors who lost their opportunity to finish their final season. We had great potential for this upcoming softball season, but sadly that will have to wait.
I try my best to still go out and throw and hit. However, parks are closed, and I can’t play at my full potential with my 12-year-old sister. Luckily one of my friends went to an open field with me to hit and throw. Don’t worry, though. We stayed six feet apart.
I hope everyone stays safe and finds a way to stay active during quarantine.