July 1, 2020 at 11:01 a.m.
'You never know when it's going to be your last'
RHS senior Izzy Haverkampf reflects on losing soccer season to COVID-19
'You never know when it's going to be your last'
The spring of 2020 has been a lot lonelier than Izzy Haverkampf ever imagined it would be.
The Rhinelander High School senior was eagerly awaiting one more run with the Hodag girls' soccer team, returning as the team's leading scorer from last year and newly installed as a team captain.
Then COVID-19 hit, turning everything upside down.
Haverkampf, like so many high school seniors, was profoundly impacted when the pandemic wiped away what was supposed to be her last few weeks of secondary education, and the final opportunity to showcase her talents on the prep sports field. Gov. Tony Evers' Safer at Home order took affect days before the Hodags were scheduled to hold their first practice of the season.
"The most I've missed about the season is the connections I made with my entire team," Haverkampf said. "I miss the entire community support behind the team. There was always so many people at the games. I just miss the whole atmosphere of the community coming together, making relationships with my teammates, with my coaches and also, on top of all that, I just miss the competition as well, seeing other schools, meeting other girls, that sort of thing."
Earlier this spring there was still hope for an abbreviated season this month, though the School District of Rhinelander's pandemic response team nixed that plan June 23. That was part of what kept Haverkampf going, along with the fact that she will continue her soccer career this fall at Northland College in Ashland. Haverkampf said she gets out as often as she can by herself, either on the turf at Mike Webster Stadium or over at the Hanson Lake Soccer Complex, to work out or get touches on the ball, but it still feels different.
"I know I'm doing it for something, practicing for the upcoming college season, but the other part of me is just like, 'Wow, I'm not really practicing for any games.' It just feels weird," she said. "Practicing by myself, I'm actually a lot less motivated because I don't have my teammates there to be complementing me (or sharing) constructive criticism. Not having a coach there with me is a big factor. I do get motivated, but it's a totally different atmosphere. I don't have somebody to pass me the ball. I don't have somebody cheering me on, that sort of thing. It's different when you are just out there with the ball and your own thoughts, no teammates or anything."
While some could see the opportunity to play in college as consolation, Haverkampf said she doesn't see it that way. She said there is only one senior high school season.
"I've had a lot of seniors playing a spring sport tell me, 'At least you get to play one more year.' But, in my eyes, I don't really see it like that," she said. "I feel like, yes I'm really excited to play in college, but it's definitely not the same environment. It like being a better player in a town and then you go to a step and you realize you're not the best anymore. You have to work harder than you have before. I'd definitely a different mindset. I'm going from being a captain on one team to a newbie on the next. It's a huge step and I'm really disappointed that I didn't have this one season to be a good role model for all the underclassmen, be a captain for one season."
It has been 3 1/2 months since everything stopped due to the pandemic, and just over two months since the WIAA officially canceled spring competitions and tournaments.
The day the WIAA officially pulled the plug on the spring sports season, the RHS girls' soccer coaching staff shared a video on its Facebook page for the players - a montage of past and present coaches, community figures, former teammates and even a couple of area referees all offering their well-wishes, condolences and support.
"I was actually in the drive-thru getting coffee when that came out and I starting bawling my eyes out," Haverkampf said of the video. "That just meant so much to me. Referees, coaches I've had throughout my life just came together to give us closure and to tell us that they care about us. I couldn't ask for a better coaching staff and community behind the Rhinelander soccer program. They're all so supportive. Even though we're not seeing them at this time, I know all of them are there for me and, if I ever need anything, I can go to any of them."
Haverkampf said there has been plenty of time for reflection during the last few months, and time to learn some valuable life lessons.
"It definitely taught me to never take anything for granted," she said. "The practices you have with your teammates, you never know when it's going to be your last, I suppose. I even miss being yelled at by my coaches. I miss teammates struggling during drills and I miss people helping each other. It really teaches you not to take those moments for granted, even though they don't seem the best at the time."
"There's always a good side to everything," she added. "There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I've seen this time as just a chance for me to practice by myself, get better by myself, working on my own footwork, working on my own cardio so that I can come together and be better at being a part of a bigger plan. Me improving myself and all the other girls working hard and improving themselves, I know that when we get together, we're going to be a great unit."
Meanwhile, Haverkampf trains in earnest for her freshman season at Northland. Even that process has changed in the midst of the pandemic. Justin Sexton, the head coach who recruited Haverkampf to Northland, left the program in April and Dan Dubois was named as his replacement in late May.
"That's been really rough on me because I had already developed a great relationship with him and he just kind of left. It kind of made the whole situation harder, in my opinion," she said.
Haverkampf noted that Dubois contacted her at the beginning of this month and, while she was not given any specific workouts, she's training to move from forward, her primary position in high school, to a central midfielder in college.
"I've been doing more ball movement drills on my own. I've been conditioning on my own," she said. "I've been working on long-distance shots rather than shooting from the 18, that sort of thing, just trying to prepare myself for the whole different environment and different position."
As Haverkampf gets set to move on to the next chapter of her soccer career, she offered the following advice to the RHSâteammates she's leaving behind.
"Especially to the underclassmen, like I said before, take every chance that high school gives you," she said. "If you're on JV and you know there's a varsity spot open, work your tail end off to get that. Never pass up on an opportunity because you never know if you're going to get the same opportunity twice. I'd really emphasize that.
"Even finding the good in all things. If you're having a rough practice, find good in it. Tell yourself, 'at least I'm with my teammates. At least I'm playing the sport I love.' Just always find the brighter side of things and never take any moments for granted."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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