A letter from SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council) President Sara Neuman ...

To my fellow student-athletes,
 
At some point in time during all of our careers, our sport has taught us a number of things: selflessness, sacrifice, all-in mentalities, and essentially the mindset that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. It's given us the opportunity to thrive at the place we call home, Saint Leo.
 
During this time of uncertainty, it's easy to feel anger, disappointment, sadness, confusion, and frustration. We have been uprooted from our chosen family, our chosen home, our chosen haven from reality. It feels like everything we love about our sport was ripped away.
 
For me, softball has been an outlet in more ways than one. I think this is where the brunt of the heartbreak is coming from. Our sport used to save us from our troubling times, and now, in this unprecedented pause in history, we have nowhere to turn. For the seniors, it hits even harder. There are so many events and memories of "lasts" that we never got the chance to experience.
 
However, we have been trained to overcome. We have stared down the face of adversity and seen the other side. Right now, we have a decision to make.
 
We have the opportunity to put all the skills our coaches helped us develop to the ultimate test. It is not about us anymore. It's not just about our team, our program, our chosen home. It's about us in totality as a community of student-athletes doing the right thing.
 
We are leaders and we must lead by example to protect the world around us by staying safe and healthy. The NCAA made the difficult decision to cancel the spring championships in order to protect us. They made it our job to take care of one another. We are no longer rivals. We are no longer opponents. We are no longer competing against one another. Instead, we are now teammates trying to achieve the same goal: health and safety. There are over 100,000 student-athletes in Division II and I am proud to stand with the 500 Lions at Saint Leo in this mission. 
 
It's time we take our emotions and fuel ourselves with them. It's time we unify and use our circumstances as an opportunity to be kind to one another. Student-athletes have such a large, and impactful platform. In times like these, we have to take care of one another, as well as ourselves. We must take this time to better ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Reach out to loved ones and check up on them. Reach out to teammates, old and new, to see how they're doing.
 
There are a lot of things we can't control right now, but we can protect our pride and our purpose. We can lift each other up, no Lion left behind. If you're having a hard time grasping what your purpose is, it's this: you matter. You have a voice. You have the ability to make a difference during this time. Now make it.

Your SAAC President,
Sara Neuman