Athletes and coaches inspire us during an uncertain time; we look forward to return of sports

Kade Zimmerman (left) and Beck Moss return to lead Irvine’s football team. Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

We’ve made it through about a month without sports.

Like you, we miss sports at all levels, including high school and college sports in Orange County. We certainly understand why sports are on hold and support the decisions to keep us safe during this very challenging time.

We send our best wishes and thank you’s to doctors, nurses and first responders and we are thinking of those who are dealing with the affects of this virus.

You’ve probably noticed, we’ve adopted on the fly a totally different approach to covering sports this past month, one that very much involves our loyal readers. It’s very interactive and truly exciting. We’re following all recommendations to work from home and doing interviews by Email and telephone and it’s been working well. In fact, we really need to incorporate this as part of our game plan when sports do resume.

Of course, we would rather be out covering games. But we’ve been blessed by the many stories that people have shared with us and we have no doubt that this approach will work during this off-period for sports.

We’ve been amazed at the insights that coaches and athletes have provided during this time.

Here’s a few examples.

Tustin High baseball coach Charles Chatman: “I am enoying being a father and a husband. We get caught up a lot being mentors and coaches and faciliators and all these different hats we have to wear being high school coaches, checking grades, making sure guys stay out of trouble, dealing with social media and all the things that go together with the responsibility of being a head coach.”

Irvine quarterback Beck Moss: “It’s really weird, I haven’t lived very long but I haven’t seen anything like this. It just feels weird to stay home. It makes you appreciate some stuff that you didn’t before.”

Cypress outfielder Peter Werth: “Everything is going to be OK. God has a purpose and a plan for everything. You just have to trust the process, just keep your head up and try to live and move on. Things happen for a reason.”

Through all these interviews, the coaches and players get it. They’re upset that sports have been cancelled, but they realize that the safety and health is the most important thing before sports can be resumed. We salute their courage and tremendous attitude through all of this.

We know many of you are adjusting, trying to get through the tough times, too. We see all the pictures on Facebook and Twitter of what you’re doing and we applaud you.

Some of you are doing lots of workouts at homes, others are taking walks while maintaining social distancing, others are spending time with their families and your dogs, who seem to be loving the extra time with their owners.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR PHOTOS:

We welcome you to share your thoughts and your pictures with our readers. You could help others to get through this. Yes, that includes pictures of you and your pets. Please email to timburt@ocsportszone.com so we can brighten the lives of others.

Please continue to follow all the recommendations to stay safe. Like you, we’re trying to remain healthy and hoping sports can return when it’s safe. We’re counting on that and we are so looking forward to it.

We are grateful for our sponsors who remain commited to our website. Through their support, we are able to continue all of our content for free, which is the way we intend to keep it.

…..And thank you for continuing to read OC Sports Zone. Personally, this reporter would also like to thank all of you who have provided words of encouragement and inspiration through this, including 87-year-old Alan Dugard, the former Woodbridge softball coach who recently retired as a teacher. He reports he is doing well. All of your comments are so appreciated.

Like you, all of us at OC Sports Zone, including our co-founder Gabriel Calderon, are trying to remain healthy one day at a time. We want to bring some smiles during a challenging time. We are here and will continue to be here for our communities.

Please be well.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com