While the pause of MLS action and the league wide training moratorium persist, Inter Miami and its players continue to do their part by staying home and practicing social distancing. The Club has also temporarily altered its logo to separate the iconic white herons, which are normally interlocked, across its digital platforms to encourage social distancing and participated in a FIFA 20 tournament for Twitch's Stream Aid 2020 event, which raised $2.8 Million throughout the 12-hour streaming event.
Meanwhile, Victor Ulloa has adapted to his new normal by connecting with his teammates from afar. The midfielder touted the power of social media and other means of technology as he aims to continue to forge relationships with his fellow Inter Miami players.
“I think that nowadays you have technology available and so many different platforms in order to stay connected. I mean, we have a WhatsApp group with everybody included, but we also have this app called Zoom, and we're having Zoom meetings with the coaches and with the staff and with the players. All of us are getting to see each other,” said Ulloa. “Today was actually a Zoom call with the whole team and we got to see everybody. It's been a while.”
Ulloa emphasized the importance of these technological advances to the team. While the players may not be able to grow their camaraderie in person at the moment, he feels the break in MLS played has allowed them to bond in ways that extend beyond the sport of soccer.
“Especially for an expansion team it’s important for us to maintain these relationships and keep getting to know each other, and now it's even on a different level, on a more personal level. Since we’re not sharing the pitch anymore, now we're asking about our families and the names of our kids and the names of our significant others,” he added. “I guess we’re getting to know each other at a personal level and trying to make the most out of this situation. We know that it's a tough time for everybody.”
“We find different ways. We have Snapchat, we have social media, and everybody's always DMing [direct messaging] each other on Instagram. We have a great group of guys and everybody knows how to use social media and all those platforms, so it's been good. It's been different for sure. We miss seeing each other and we miss that daily interaction, but we're getting to know each other at a deeper level.”
While he may be away from the pitch, the 28-year-old has no shortage of options to fill his days. In addition to team-related activities, Ulloa balances his time between caring for his 15-month-old son and taking online classes in pursuit of a sports management degree.
“I take a few classes online, so whenever [my son’s] down, I take advantage and I try to do a little bit of schoolwork,” said Ulloa. “I've been doing it for a couple of years, but now I have more time to maybe try and take another class. I usually just take one, but you get a week's worth of work and you have deadlines. You have a discussion on Thursday assignments due Sunday by midnight and they're done weekly. I tried to stay on top of that more now that I have time, especially when my baby goes down, but it's something that I've always dreamed of to get my degree in sports management so that after I'm done playing I have something to fall back on.”
