Archer Brookman poses with his family after playing for the Canadian Junior National Team. Credit: Courtesy of Archer Bookman
Most of the Ohio State baseball players call the Buckeye state home, making for an easy, stress-free travel home when the team departed for winter break in late November.
That was not the case for junior catcher Archer Brookman.
Brookman, a native of Pointe-Claire, Canada, was able to return home, but faced COVID-19 international travel challenges and was welcomed home to a city on lockdown. He persevered, however, cherishing the time he spent with his parents.
“It was definitely a long, long day of driving for sure,” Brookman said. “It was all worth it in the end going home and seeing my family.”
The first step in Brookman’s journey home was downloading an app called ArriveCAN. The app was created in April 2020 and designed specifically for travelers to log their destination and health information upon entering Canada, according to Canada’s official government website. Brookman said he entered where he was traveling from, where he was traveling to and where he was going to quarantine on the app.
Brookman was then cleared to return home to Pointe-Claire — a surrounding city in the Montreal metropolitan area.
After his girlfriend drove him to the border, Brookman’s mother was there to greet him on the other side.
“When I saw my mom on the other side of the border in Canada, that was an awesome feeling,” Brookman said.
Following the 13-hour drive from Columbus to Pointe-Claire, Brookman happily embraced his father and siblings, something extra special to him due to the long time in between visits.
His father, Andy Brookman, echoed this sentiment.
“It’s tough when you don’t see your child for three, four months at a time,” Andy Brookman said. “[Archer’s return] is a pretty happy occasion.”
Immediately upon his arrival home, Archer Brookman quarantined for 14 days in compliance with Canada’s COVID-19 international travel guidelines. For the duration of his quarantine, he had to complete a daily COVID-19 symptom assessment on the ArriveCAN app, similar to Ohio State’s daily health check.
Montreal is the second-most populous city in Canada and has recorded 97,995 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to Quebec’s coronavirus dashboard as of Sunday.
Archer Brookman said much of his hometown was shut down as Quebec issued a province-wide curfew.
“It was ‘code red,’” Brookman said. “There was nothing, no gyms, no restaurants; it was a total lockdown.”
Brookman said the inability to go to hitting facilities while at home may have put him a step behind his American teammates as the COVID-19 guidelines in the United States are less restrictive.
These setbacks did not discourage him, though, as he worked out a lot at home. Brookman said the routine involved stretching, push ups and sit ups.
Andy Brookman said with his son at home there was a lot of family-oriented time spent together.
“There were random games online, Kahoot or whatever,” Andy Brookman said. “We were doing something where we’d all do these family presentations on topics that we chose, like what’s better: Marvel or DC Universe? Just different silly things like that like who would survive a nuclear holocaust in our family, like ‘The Walking Dead.’”
Archer Brookman said his ability to relax at home did him good, especially since the mental health of a baseball player is crucial to one’s level of success.
“I guess recharging, as you’d say — going home and seeing my family and seeing a couple friends here and there — was nice to reset and then kind of clear my head,” Brookman said. “Once I was back [in Columbus], it was go time.”
Brookman said once the season starts, he does not see his family again until the summer, so he appreciates every opportunity to see them.
Regardless of the long distance, Brookman always keeps in touch with his family with frequent phone calls home, updating them on how he is doing and if there is anything new going on in his life.
Talking on the phone does not compare to his joy at home though.
“Whenever I go home, I always spend time with my family because I usually don’t know the next time I’ll see them,” Brookman said. “It’s always nice seeing them after a long period of time.”
