On May 13, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that the dead period <\/a>for recruits would be extended until June 30. This means that there cannot be any in-person contact between players and coaches, and athletes are not allowed to visit college campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prospective student athletes sometimes rely on campus visits to help with the college decision making process. Without them, it may be hard to know where they want to end up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou get a really in person view of what it would be like to be a student athlete at that school while being present on campus,\u201d Grand Valley State University\u2019s women\u2019s lacrosse coach Mackenzie Lawler said. \u201cSo it\u2019s tough to not have that in person feeling because that\u2019s kind of how recruiting has always been done in the past.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The cancellation of spring sports poses a big challenge for athletes in the class of 2020 who want to play in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senior varsity baseball player Kolbe Vandenberg verbally committed to Adrian College as a walk-on to the team. This came after not being able to play his junior year due to an Achilles tendon tear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[The injury] was really difficult mentally and physically. The first time I heard the news was very difficult because I had never been hurt before,\u201d Vandenberg said. \u201cI had never missed a season before either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the last time he was able to take the field was his sophomore year, the 2020 season would\u2019ve closely resembled how he\u2019d play in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was crucial to know I could do it, and [to] know I was worth it, as clich\u00e9 as that may sound,\u201d Vandenberg said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After learning the spring season was canceled, senior varsity lacrosse player Jaryn Cleveland was upset she couldn\u2019t play her final season as a Wildcat. But sadness wasn\u2019t the only emotion she was feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started to get worried about my chances to play in college because I wasn\u2019t able to have college recruiters come watch me play,\u201d Cleveland said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cleveland wants to continue her lacrosse career at Aquinas College, but nothing is official as of now. If she gets the opportunity to play in college, she has dreams for her seasons to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy hopes are to be able to bond with the girls on the team and meet new people,\u201d Cleveland said. \u201cAlso, learning new techniques and skills from another coach to help my performance as a player.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Junior athletes are also being affected by the spring sport cancellations. Now they only have their senior season and possibly one more club season to play and be recruited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the situation varsity junior soccer player Jocelyn Hendricks<\/a> is in. Now that her season is canceled, she has one last club and high school season left to try and catch scouts\u2019 attention to continue to play the sport she loves in college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy passion for [soccer] is so strong, [that I wouldn\u2019t want] to just not play in college,\u201d Hendricks said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many other athletes who are going through the uncertainty this season is bringing, she is nervous about how her recruitment will play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am worried I won\u2019t be able to have the chance to show them what I\u2019ve got, but I know I just have to trust the process,\u201d Hendricks said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring sports aren\u2019t the only sports being affected. April is a big recruiting month for basketball players who play travel basketball because of the \u201clive period<\/a>\u201d where college coaches can watch them play in person. But due to COVID-19, those tournaments have been postponed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sophomore varsity basketball player Jalen Charity is among those who are going through the challenges of the basketball recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince we have been on lockdown for a while now, recruiting has been a struggle. Travel basketball could have a possibility of making a return but [I\u2019m] staying on the safe side to be prepared for the worse,\u201d Charity said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nvroar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Kolbe.recruitment.jpg?resize=333%2C223\")
baseball since his sophomore year due to an
Achilles tear.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nvroar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/684D0E86-4118-495C-8EC5-A75F1E8645E7.jpg?resize=263%2C391\")
lacrosse game in spring 2019. She played
volleyball along with lacrosse.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nvroar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Jocelyn.recruitment.jpg?resize=295%2C196\")
before a soccer game in 2019. She has played
on varsity since her freshman year.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nvroar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Jalen.recruitment.jpg?resize=258%2C386\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nvroar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Final-College-athletics-by-the-s.jpg?resize=780%2C1024\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n