Eric SorensonMany have been hit hard by the news that schools will not return to campus for the remainder of the academic year. It’s a tough and transformative time for all, but especially for the senior class, the class of 2020. Sports360AZ wants to hear from those seniors on how they’re adjusting, what they’re feeling and how this experience can make them stronger moving forward in a new segment we call “2020 Vision.”
Blake Gamez is a big man with big plans.
The Verrado High senior offensive lineman and NAU football signee is keeping his mind and his body in shape during the current corona virus quarantine.
“Usually start my mornings, get up and make some breakfast,” Gamez said in a recent Skype interview with Sports360AZ.com. “Get up and moving pretty early. I don’t like to waste a day. Monday through Friday I have classes on line. I try to get that out of the way so I can spend as much time with my family as possible.”
While family is important, too much family can lead to some tense times at home.
“We get on each other’s nerves,” Gamez said flashing a wide grin. “We have our little fights. Sibling battles going on. We’re real competitive here. We’ll play ping pong and those games will get heated. Some days you just have to step away and have some time to yourself or we’ll be having brawls.”
In those quieter moments, he’s been reflective about how the pandemic has shifted life as he once knew it just a couple of months ago.
“When they canceled school after spring break, as they started removing all the things I was looking forward to – prom and graduation,” Gamez explained. “That was heart-breaking. That was the final stretch in my high school career. It was unreal at first. It is what it is now.”
Moving forward he’s excited to make the the trip up Interstate 17 to the cool pines.
COMMITTED?⚒ @Verrado_Vipers @CoachMMartinez @S_E_Training @RonTBAOL @EsparzaDJ @SteveGrube1 @CoachPerrone @NAU_Football @CoachChrisBall @Coach_Connelly @CoachSuth74 pic.twitter.com/Mp4hK2Cogi
— Blake Gamez (@BlakeGamez) January 30, 2020
“NAU just felt like home,” he said. “The staff is wonderful. I felt connected as soon as I started talking to those guys. When going up on the visit and talking to the [players], I thought I meshed well. I felt like they were people I wanted to be around.”
