NEWARK, NJ | The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team has stayed in touch during this COVID-19 pandemic via weekly Zoom calls. This past Friday, Head Coach Ashley Cieplicki brought in a surprise guest for her athletes. Eric LeGrand joined the call to give his perspective on how he's handling this pandemic along with his outstanding positive outlook on life.

LeGrand is a former defensive tackle who played for Rutgers University. During a game in 2010, LeGrand made a tackle that would change his life forever as that tackle would paralyze him completely. Since that fateful day, LeGrand has gone on to be named Most Influential Person in New Jersey by The Star-Ledger, been inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame for the Warrior Award, and won the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2012 ESPYs. 

"After talking to Heather and Eric my mindset during quarantine has changed. Both of their work ethics are inspiring, Heather went from not playing to starting in the National Championship game. She was never complacent with where she was, she always wanted to get better. Eric went through a lot with his injury and despite all of that, he still gets up every day and does what he needs to do no matter the circumstances, he doesn't make excuses for himself. It made me realize that we never know what's going to happen tomorrow so we should get up today and make the best of it," said Elisha India Cross.

The Zoom calls are a good way for the team to have face-to-face interaction during this time and help keep the team bonded as well as give updates on how they're doing. 

Heather Zurich was a member of the Rutgers University women's basketball team which saw two NCAA Regional Finals, a Final Four, and the program's first-ever NCAA National Championship game. Her tale of grinding her way into the starting lineup is inspiring for young student-athletes as they continue to improve during their collegiate career. 

"It gave me a different perspective on life, sometimes I might take everything I have for granted and I'm capable of doing more than I hold myself accountable to," said Ebony Odom Barnes.