New York Red Bulls captain and midfielder Sean Davis is one of many professional athletes who had their much anticipated seasons postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Red Bulls homegrown talent is practicing social distancing and staying in his Jersey City apartment during the shut down prompted by the virus that has created havoc in the sportsworld and everywhere else.
Davis spoke to SportsJam host Doug Doyle about being isolated from his family and his teammates while keeping in shape mentally and physically.
Davis says his family is safe and healthy.
"You know I grew up in this area (Holmdel) obviously so my parents are close by but unfortunately I haven't been able to spend time with them. You know I'm trying to be safe. So staying away from them, they are in a little bit of the high risk age group, so we've been in contact pretty much every single day. We FaceTime a lot. Thankfully, they're doing well. They are staying home. My brother is also there to help take care of them. All things considered we're in a good situation right now."
With so many questions yet to be decided about the coronavirus, the popular midfielder isn't sure when the MLS would resume its season.
"I don't have any special info, but I have been in touch with MLSPA. We've also been able to have some calls with Commissioner Don Garber. The main thing right now is to keep everone safe and healthy as possible. I don't have any insight but I will say that they're exploring all options. They're looking at all different types of models, continuing to see how this progresses over time. Hopefully, we'll be back on the field sooner, rather than later. I know that personally. I think I speak on behalf of the guys and I'm sure the fans, the club that what I look forward to most is being back at Red Bull Arena in front of our club, in front of our community. That's going to be a really special moment. But until then, we have to be patient and we have to be smart in how we approach things."
Sean is following a strict schedule with hopes of staying in good playing condition.
"For me it's really important to stay in a routine. I like to work out really early in the morning. That helps me avoid contact. Jersey City, unfortunately, is a little bit of a hot spot. So it's important to be careful, especially in a building I live in. It's very close to New York and there's a lot of people. For me success is getting downstairs without the elevator stopping. My best chance at doing that is early in the morning. Fortunately we have a great fitness coach Tony Jouaux. He sends individualized workouts to the guys. We do Zoom calls for group strength sessions. We're trying to everything we possibly can to stay on top of the small details so eventually when things get going again we're able to hit the ground running. We also have team video calls for film sessions. We'll have an attackers meeting. We'll have a defenders meeting. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it the center midfielders are involved in both. We're also watching some of the best teams in the world."
Davis loves playing video games, reading, watching movies and cooking, his latest passion.
What kind of conversations is he having with his girlfriend while isolated in their apartment?
"There's a lot of different conversations that we have. We want to be sensitive to how we're both feeling. The conversation we always go back to is our families. My girlfriend's grandparents live in New Jersey. Her grandparents are a little bit older so there not able to get all things done around the house that we all have a luxury to do. Staying in touch with them has been really important. On my side, taking care of my parents. You know our loved ones are who we live for. That's probably my favorite thing about playing for the Red Bulls is being able to share those moments with my parents."
During this edition of SportsJam, the four-year standout at Duke University also talked his favorite moments in college and his MLS debut in 2015. Davis was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and grew up in Holmdel. He attended Holmdel High School through his freshman year.
Click above to hear more about Sean Davis' career, his favorite shoes, and why he chose Duke over the University of North Carolina.
You can follow him on twitter at @seanakiradavis.
