Keith Huisman Contact Sports Before Covid
Earlier this year, life was normal. It was going along just like it always does when in March, everything was suddenly upended by an invisible opponent. The coronavirus hit like aviolent, worldwide hurricane endangering countless lives and businesses. For those in the high-risk population, every touch no matter how fleeting became risky. As a result, many contact interactions have gone contactless, payments have gone from cash to digital, meetings of all kinds went from in-person to Zoom or Google Hangouts. Several elements of the educational experience also had to be re-worked, with varying results. A junior-Level Literature lecture on A Tale of Two Cities is hampered online, depending on the class, but not impossible. One element of the student experience that is particularly challenging to navigate in a contactless world is the experience of sports. Many athletic directors have had to figure out how to keep their programs running, and by doing so continue to care for their athletes’ academic future, and mental health. Private schools, institutions where participants are paying for the privilege of the whole experience have had to work a little harder. Standing at the helm of Calvary Christian Academy’s athletic ship is Athletic Director Keith Huisman.
Keith Huisman Calvary before Covid
Mr. Huisman is not a newcomer to the sports scene. In fact, one might call him seasoned, being that he has eleven years of experience between his tenure In Jupiter, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale Christian, and now CCA. Overseeing sixteen sports over fifty teams, over two campuses is a tall enough order as it is, even when things are normal, let alone handling the “new normal.” Last season, the athletes, the coaches, enjoyed normal with the volleyball and football team experiencing a notable season. For Huisman, it is not the trophies that matter. What Huisman hopes his athletes get out of his program, is character. Instead of fostering just the athlete, CCA Athletics takes a more holistic approach to sports, caring for the whole student. Even in a COVID world, their mission has not changed.
In the beginning of the pandemic, like everywhere else the Athletic program came to pause, as some logistics were figured out. To start with, the focus had to be on the individual training, but eventually they were able to expand with facilities such as the weight room opening back up on June 15. In terms of adapting to the new normal athletics department had the advantage on classroom learning, as he puts it:
“We’ve always looked at how to do things better and do more than we have and so being flexible, adjusting. There’s weather, there’s all those things that pour in, and so we’ve always had to be adaptive and flexible.”
Calvary after Covid
With the coming of the fall season came the implementation of guidelines set down by FHAA. Everything, from the weight room to the stands had to be reworked to allow proper cleaning and social distancing. All of this done, not just to keep a program running, but in keeping with Calvary’s holistic approach, is done with the athlete’s mental health in mind. Returning to sports, returning to practices in person means more to these athletes than getting a season back, it is getting a piece of their lives back, and the athletes have taken full advantage of the opportunity to work off some that pent up quarantine energy. It is not the same that it was before, but it is something, and that is enough.
Of course, there is still room to grow. The goals that may have been set up a year beforehand are not attainable in the COVID world, and that is okay. The virus is a proverbial mountain, and who better to scale it than an athlete? To that end Huisman has some advice for his fellow athletic directors:
“Start small, and build. There are ninety variables to each situation that you haven’t even thought of that will show themselves when you start.”
Keith Huisman Calvary Continues on in midst of Covid
Going forward, into the unknown, there is one thing that Mr. Huisman hopes his athletes remember: contrary to the prosperity Gospel, following God does not always lead to places that are comfortable. In fact, as many of the disciples experienced, it leads to some uncomfortable places, such as it led Apostle Peter to his own cross. To Huisman, though they are not going to the ends of the earth, losing their lives, COVID has given them the chance to in a way go on their own local, mission trip. Slowly, as things are starting to come back, like the kid who comes back from South America, amazed that there is more than rice and beans on the menu, he sees athletes with a new appreciation for things that were once considered a given. , “it was an opportunity to see what it’s like when you don’t have.” It is a privilege to play, and a privilege they do not intend to waste. Though the situation is still in flux, achieving their highest goal: honoring God, remains a constant.
