To everyone in our Sydney Swans family,
The last few weeks have been as challenging as we have ever experienced in our time at this great club. As we’re sure you can agree, these challenges stem largely from the fear of the unknown.
Right now, there is a great unknown surrounding our industry and our season, but this pales in comparison to the unknown surrounding COVID-19 and what it means for all of us as people, as families, and as communities.
We want you to know that we share in the anxieties that you are no doubt experiencing in such an uncertain world. We too have people we are deeply concerned about. And like many of you, we are now living and training in isolation, with interactions limited to our immediate family or team meetings through Zoom.
While the current pandemic is clearly, greater than football, footy has taught us resilience. Our club has been built upon people who have shown great resilience to overcome adversity. There are countless examples. We ask that you draw inspiration from whatever example springs to mind, no matter how big or small.
We’d also like to share with you a few things our playing group is doing to help get through these times:
- Respect the advice of the government and health authorities. Play your role. Be strict with your hygiene and practice physical distancing.
- While isolating, find a routine or structure that works for you. This may be as simple as making your bed and putting on clothes for the day. We are also encouraging the boys to write a daily to-do list with at least three things they aim to get done.
- Stay connected! We have a number of weekly meetings online both as a group and in our lines. Judging by Instagram, there seems to be regular connectivity via Xbox or PlayStation amongst the boys (although clearly, us three are out of the loop). Callum Sinclair is stockpiling for his podcast and Sam Naismith is going live on Wednesday nights to catch up with players.
Respecting our health and the health of others is the most important thing we can stand for right now. We all need to be disciplined in this.
We want you to know you’re not alone, because you are part of our Swans family. We urge you to join us in solidarity – united we will get through this together.
Take care. We can’t wait to see you back at the footy.
Dane Rampe, Luke Parker and Josh Kennedy
Co-captains, Sydney Swans
