BERKELEY, Ca. (KRON) – With many collegiate sports teams unable to meet in person or even access their facilities this fall, it can be hard for athletes to stay motivated.
However, that’s not the case for the Cal Lacrosse team.
On top of getting creative with virtual workouts, several players are using their extra down time to make a difference.
“There was a lot of unknowns going into the fall. Even up until a few days before a bunch of us moved back to Berkeley we were still unsure of what our fall would look like,” said Junior Midfielder Cat Roxas.
While they aren’t able to meet in person or even access their facilities, the players aren’t having a hard time staying busy.
Head Lacrosse Coach Brooke Eubanks requires every member of her team to join a community service committee.
“It’s super important for us as student athletes, we can set the tone. We talk about it in our meetings, we want our voices to be heard. And we want to set the expectation for other students,” said Senior Attack Nikki Zaccaro.
Roxas, Zaccaro, Kamryn Lanier and LB Campagna decided to start The Go Bears, Go Vote iniative. Their goal is to get every student at Cal registered ahead of the election, starting with the athletic department.
“We’ve tried to meet with every team. So that’s basically been our main source of registering people is just through those presentations, walking them through the steps. It’s been super effective and fun,” said Campagna.
The players have been giving virtual PowerPoint presentations, collecting surveys, and even sharing a QR code for students to learn how to register in their state.
“Our population is the lowest turnout and a lot of people are voting for the first time and don’t really have the education,” said Zaccaro.
As the deadline for voter registration looms, the group is pushing harder than ever. They know in life, like in lacrosse, heart and hustle go a long way.
“It’s also given some normalcy, just being driven to work together towards a goal, it’s what we’re used to,” said Lanier.
The players estimate they’ve helped hundreds of students register to vote. However, they don’t want to take sole credit for coming up with the idea; two years ago lacrosse senior Madison Roberts also put together a voter registration drive.
The deadline to register in California is October 19th.