When the pandemic hit last March, Indiana University sent students home. In order to bring them back, they had to figure a way to do so safely. They also had to offer services for students to use.

IU and Recreational Sports worked together in the spring and summer to get students back into campus facilities. After a summer of lockdown and restrictions, students were itching for activity on campus. Fortunately for them, IU opened up Rec Sports facilities, and they were able to do it safely.

“We were working with epidemiologists and university experts to make sure we were doing everything we could to open but make sure that it was safe,” Shelby Smith, Rec Sports Outreach Coordinator said.

When the new school year started in August, the Student Recreational Sports Center opened back up. But at first, attendance was low. It may have been fear or uncertainty of the coronavirus, but the SRSC was not getting as many people as expected.

Gavin Schoenle has been going to the gym since he was in middle school, so he was just glad to get back to his routine. He started going again right away, because he said he feels better when he works out.

“Rather than be scared and waste a year of my life, I’d rather go be productive and get some stuff done that I enjoy,” he said.

When everything shut down last March, he did workouts at home. He borrowed weights from his dad and tried to make his workout sessions as close to normal, but he said nothing compared to the real thing.

“It’s tough because you got so used to your routine,” he said. “I did a lot of pushups, a lot of body weight workouts, but definitely definitely missed having the gym open during that time.”

For Schoenle, he doesn’t work out just for the physical aspects. While he has built more muscle, his reasons for working out is so much bigger. Being a full-time student and part-time employee, he accumulates a lot of stress. Working out is his release. He goes to the gym four times a week, and he said he does it to keep a cool head.

“I started because for me my biggest stresses were relieved when I work out,” he said. “Because it’s just you versus yourself, and you can just work that stress out by yourself.”

Like so many other students, Schoenle uses the SRSC as a way to get out of the house. After being cooped up inside for months, students have used Rec Sports as a way of getting outside and having fun. And it goes beyond the gym. Rec Sports has even done socially distanced intramural sports, as well as esports leagues.

Although things are starting to look more normal on campus, there is still a long way to go until everything is opened back up. In the mean time, students can work out at the SRSC or Bill Garrett Fieldhouse, play games at the Recreational Sports Field Complex and join intramurals. But the Rec Sports staff can’t wait to get back the things they’ve been missing this past year.

“I miss seeing people smiling,” Smith said. “You don’t realize how big of an impact that is.”