Sports have been a gateway for many young Black athletes to find their passion and get a chance to change their lives for the better. But for many high school athletes, COVID-19 has blocked that gate. Now, with entire seasons postponed, so have many recruiting efforts, forcing the young Black athletes across the U.S. to pursue new dreams – or at least, to come up with a Plan B. Consider the stories of Alexis Tademy, a high school volleyball star in Louisiana, and California football player Calen Bullock. They are two of the thousands of young Black athletes who have found success with going to college even if that is remaining in their sport or adjusting to their life without it.

“I was looking forward to the season because I still don’t have enough offers I thought that I would have and it has been a stressful situation,” Tademy said. The recruitment for these athletes, especially Black athletes, is pivotal because many athletes will be first-generation college students.

“The coaches are just telling us to stay healthy, really me and my teammates understand what’s going on and why we can’t play.” Bullock said, “When we first heard we couldn’t play it hurt all of us because love football so much we didn’t know what to do.”

Black athletes are a crucial population for addressing the wide gap in college education between Black and white Americans. Barely 30 percent of Blacks hold a college degree, compared to 47 percent of whites. For graduate degrees the gap is even wider: barely half of Blacks (7.8 percent) hold advanced degrees compared to whites (13.4 percent), according to academic researchers Andrew Howard Nichols and J. Oliver Schak.

These disparities create a domino effect for Black student athletes, and that is worsening during the pandemic. Black communities are already suffering disproportionately high COVID-19 infections and deaths, and an ongoing economic downturn. Now, the recruitment drop-off is yet another factor for hard-hit Black communities trying to give their children a fair chance at an education.

Both Bullock and Tademy aspire to play college athletics as a way to pay for a university education and become among members of their families with degrees in higher education. But in two different sports, on opposite sides of the country, they are coping with the absence of their sports in different ways, as their families are trying to adjust to the new recruiting reality.

For months, Tademy was looking forward to her last year of high school volleyball. She has played the sport nearly her entire life and was working toward Division I or II scholarships. Even though in an unprecedented time, Tademy wanted to play; that was never the question for her. But, she made a hard decision that she felt was best for her and her parents approved.

“I decided to graduate early in December, since we aren’t having volleyball,” Tademy said. Still, she has some regrets about letting the sport go.

Now, she will be applying to college as a regular admit and not as an athlete on her future university campus. Tademy is grateful her parents pushed her to excel on and off the volleyball court so she could get admitted into college for her grades instead of depending solely on volleyball. She has a 4.0 grade point average and multiple hours of community service while being a member of other organizations.

Fourteen hundred miles away, the situation is different for senior football standout Calen Bullock. The 6 foot-2-inch safety for Muir High School in Pasanda, California is eager to play but because of safety guidelines, the California Interscholastic Federation chose to suspend fall sports until the spring because of state health guidelines.

Bullock recently made a verbal commitment to play for USC and holds offers from powerhouses like Ohio State, Oklahoma and Oregon. He has the luxury of knowing he will have the opportunity to get an education in part because of his athletic ability. But, the adjustment has not been easy for him and his life away from football has been challenging.

In the absence of football, Bullock has learned to adjust while finding a new hobby in playing games and even has connected more with his mom during the wait of the season. They talk a lot more now since Bullock is spending most of his days at home. Accustomed to daily practice and being around his teammates, he’s had to find new things to keep him busy. Bullock plays Call of Duty and NBA 2K to occupy his free time, “A new hobby I picked up now that I have so much time on my hands, I became a game head. I play the game a lot now more than I used to,” Bullock said.

A newfound gamer, Bullock says it was odd for his mom seeing him home as much and seeing an increase in her grocery expenses because of him. “She said at first it was weird seeing me at home all day and weird that she wasn’t going to my football games on Friday and that she has to buy a lot more food now that I’m always home,” Bullock said.

But, the football standout is still staying ready for the season and hasn’t seen a shift in his recruitment like others. His scholarships remain despite him not playing currently and is still being actively recruited even with his commitment. Bullock’s routine starts with a 7:00 a.m. run around his neighborhood and then has enough time to eat breakfast and get ready for school. Once school is over, Bullock finds himself heading to another workout for another few hours then ends his day with his new hobby.

High school athletes must also contend with different rules and restrictions, depending on where they live. Louisiana and California have different safety guidelines. After an initial closure to the season, in the beginning of October Louisiana opened its high school stadiums for Friday Night football. In California, restrictions remain in place as officials move some of their fall sports to the spring.

For other athletes that are not given the guarantee of scholarships and continued recruitment such as Bullock, at Huntington High School, in Shreveport, LA., assistant strength and conditioning football coach Trent Starks emphasized the importance sports has on the Black community. Huntington’s student population is majority of the Black students, players look to recruitment as one of the ways to get an education.

“Our players have worked their entire lives hoping to have a chance at a scholarship,” Starks said. “And with most of the team they are from low-income neighborhoods and are looking to get out of those environments into a better life, starting with their education at a university where they can also use their football skills.”

In Louisiana, parents of players have argued against restrictions for high school football. They were joined by the Louisiana High School Athletics Association, which pointed out the state was already allowing collegiate football. On October 8, 2020, when Louisiana schools did re-establish a football season, Gov. John Bel Edwards said the decision to resume sports was dictated by proper safety procedures and protocols.

Back in Shreveport, Tademy has accepted that her path to college is not what she expected it to be.

“I’m happy that for me, I was kind of forced to have good grades in my household and to be active in my community,” Tademy said. “My dad treated me the same way he treated his wrestling team when it came to academic integrity and making sure that we, as athletes, did not make the sport our only way of success.”

Her parents are happy that for their child she will not take that much of a hurt in her future because of her deciding to opt out of her senior season that she was depending on.

Across the country in California, Calen Bullock is dealing with a different reality. As a four star athlete, ranked 13th in his position in the state of California, he is just using this time to get prepared for his collegiate career.

“I feel like California has a lot going on right now with COVID keep going up, so it’s best for us right now not play,” Bullock said, “I feel like the pause of the season hasn’t really affected my recruiting, it’s still the same for me —nothing changed.”

Bullock and Tademy are among the tens of thousands of Black student-athletes who can rely both on their sport or different opportunities as their path for education. Instead, they are trying to forge their destinies in ways they had never considered. One thing Bullock nor Tademy have in common: In their own way, both say they will not allow the uncertain pandemic to stop them from their dreams.