Staying Sharp, and Giving Back - GoDucks.com

The novel coronavirus robbed Jack Scanlon of his freshman season with the Oregon baseball team. He's using time not spent on the baseball diamond to give back to those on the front lines of the global pandemic.

Scanlon, who hit .293 as Oregon's primary catcher during the abbreviated 2020 season, returned home to New York when the pandemic began in the middle of March. He grew up less than an hour's drive north of the pandemic's major epicenter in the United States, New York City.

In the two months since, Scanlon has focused on his academics, with an eye toward eventually entering the UO's Lundquist College of Business. He has worked out several times a week at his family's home, with a cousin who is himself an up-and-coming baseball prospect.

And, several days a week, Scanlon works a few hours in his family's coffee shop in the town of Sloatsburg.

At "The Village Blend," opened in 2018 by his grandmother, Barbara, and his mom, Nicole, Scanlon primarily works as a barista. But on Wednesdays, he and his family make dozens of lunches that they deliver each Thursday to workers helping battle the pandemic, including at Good Samaritan Hospital in nearby Suffern.

Among the tasks Scanlon helps handle while assembling the lunches is writing personalized notes that accompany each, giving thanks for the work being done during these trying times. The messages aren't just to strangers — Scanlon has an aunt who works at the hospital.

"It is really rewarding," Scanlon said, "to be able to give back."

The pandemic has denied Scanlon much. It cut short his promising freshman season, as well as plans to play this summer on the East Coast. Because New York has seen such a catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19, Scanlon's hometown faces stricter suppression measures than other areas of the country.

But he counts himself fortunate compared to some others. Scanlon has friends whose parents are doctors; in at least one instance, when they come home at the end of the day, they spend the night in an RV outside their house, rather than going inside and putting their family at risk of exposure. Compared with that — to say nothing of those who have watched friends and family fall ill or even succumb to the disease — Scanlon counts himself as fortunate.

"I won't be taking things for granted anymore, that's for sure," Scanlon said. "I'm very thankful for what we have."

The Oregon baseball team was off to an 8-7 start and had boarded a bus to begin its first Pac-12 road trip of the season, to UCLA, when the season was cut short. Scanlon returned home to New York soon after, and finished the university's winter quarter from home.

He's a committed student, and that hasn't changed despite classes being conducted virtually. As a freshman he has general education requirements to satisfy before narrowing his focus to a major, and Scanlon's course load includes political science and geology this spring.

"There's so much free time now, I find myself checking Canvas more than I ever have," Scanlon said, referring to the university's online portal for connecting students with academic resources. "I find myself even doing things in advance, getting the next week's work done."

And though the pandemic robbed Scanlon of his freshman season with the Ducks, it can't keep him away from the game completely. Among the first things he did upon returning home to New York was to erect the batting cage on his family property, which had previously been stored away for the winter.

"If I don't take it down," Scanlon said, "the snow would crush it."

His cousin is a high school senior coming back from Tommy John surgery. Everyday, they gather to throw and hit together, staying sharp for whenever they get the chance to return to a diamond.

Scanlon initially had plans to play this summer in Virginia. When that was canceled, he sought out a league in New England. Then, that was canceled as well.

At this point, Scanlon simply hopes that, at some point this summer, he can get together with friends on a local diamond, straight out of the movie "The Sandlot," and play a game.

"Nothing organized," he said. "Just go out there and rekindle your love of the game."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"back" - Google News
May 09, 2020 at 04:22AM
https://ift.tt/35HDFyC

Staying Sharp, and Giving Back - GoDucks.com
"back" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QNOfxc
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

Bagikan Berita Ini