Covid Heroes

By Noah Geeser

There is a common narrative in sports.

It seems with any obstacle presented there is an even more treacherous path to venture on to pass these obstacles.

I have found in life that those decisive moments where you have to decide whether to give up and move on or face these obstacles are always better suited to being made with someone by your side.

As we all know, covid-19 was an obstacle for us all.

It changed the way we lived.

And for ultra-competitive athletes, like myself, my shark-like instinct to keep moving forward with my team through anything was put to an abrupt halt.

I went on to spend the first couple of initial months of the pandemic in complete stillness.

The time off, although much needed, soon came to frustrate me. 

I wanted to get back to football.

I knew I had to continue to grow and develop to give myself the best shot at landing a starting role in college.

It was time to get back to work. I knew I had to find someone that could not only personally work with me and develop my skills based on my specific background and history but also in a covid-safe manner. 

And with everyone home and staying in… it’d be training in the dark.

As I mentioned earlier, that common narrative had now become my reality. The difference now was there was someone to help me get through it all.

Queue Willie White…

Coach White was the answer to my prayers.

He began by dissecting every part of my game from route efficiency to explosiveness off blocks. He promised he was going to make me better and he did just that.

Training for me during this pandemic has made me realize that even in the darkest times, some things shine through the darkness. 

Although Coach White got me a world faster and more explosive, he gave me something that will last much longer than my new physicality.  

He gave me the gift of a life-long friendship. 

Last summer, we figured out we both love to golf so that was our so-called “thing”, and we’ve played countless times together since. 

I’ve learned so much about him that I would have never known if I hadn’t started training with him. He told me he figured out his passion a couple of years ago, but now, he knows it’s what he wants to do with his life. 

He wants to make his training program, B-GR8, into a nonprofit. He says B-GR8 is so much more than football, he says “that it’s about creating a GR8 person, with a GR8 character, before being a GR8 athlete.”

While taking great precautions during this pandemic to ensure we as athletes stay safe while we get better at the sport we love, Coach still seemed to find ways to push me in an as safe manner as possible.

I’m beyond blessed to be in the situation where I’m allowed the opportunity to play college football and to be able to keep perfecting my craft to the best of my ability during these times.

To this day I train about 2-3 times a week with Coach, and every time we work on something different. He just makes me better at my craft and most importantly as a person overall. I’m beyond grateful and thankful to have met Coach White as he joins me in my journey through college football and life. 

When a lot of people see these times we’re living as hopeless and lost we have to remember the effect of the power of coming together as one. 

Whether in person with a mask or utilizing the incredible advancements of technology through social media we have to come together.

Our ability to effect change is much greater together than separated. 

I somehow found myself receiving innumerable benefits from a seemingly hopeless obstacle.