Tyler Adams remains optimistic during the coronavirus pandemic

Tyler Adams, like much of the rest of the world, is at home hoping to do his part to flatten the curve of the coronavirus outbreak that has brought much of the world to a standstill. Still, he’s doing his best to keep in shape and in contact with his RB Leipzig and United States Men’s National Team coaches and teammates. Last weekend, he sat down for an interview with the Bundesliga on what it has been like for him and his teammates during this COVID-19 pandemic and how he’s keeping in touch with his loved ones.

Adams has tried to stay upbeat and keep a good, albeit abnormal, workout routine every day. “I usually wake up pretty early around 8am, go out and do my workout, go for a run,” Adams mentioned. He also has devoted some of his extra free time to gaining some more knowledge. “There’s not too much to do but having things like online studies—I’m still studying psychology on online university, which has helped me kind of stay in tune with the day and not lose too much focus,” Adams goes on to mention that he’s doing his best to “minimize downtime as much as possible.”

In this “new normal” of social distancing and minimizing contact with others outside your household, Tyler Adams has been keeping close contact with his teammates, coaches, and loved ones:

“Family to me is always the most important thing. These circumstances haven’t changed how I stay in contact with any of them. My three brothers and my parents are very close to me. We talk via FaceTime almost every day, and I talk to my brothers on a daily basis, playing video games with them in the downtime that we have right now, and playing some games, whether it’s online or something like that....I talk to my parents every day via FaceTime, text, and obviously there’s a lot to talk about right now!”

On the soccer side, Adams said his RB Leipzig teammates are staying in contact via group chats, and the coaching staff has sent video clips to keep up with their tactics. USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter has reached out on a “daily basis,” and Adams said that not only are they checking in on everyone’s health, they’re also updating them on the next steps when life and sports can resume. Adams was expected to feature in two USMNT friendlies against the Netherlands and Wales before the pandemic forced the cancellation of both matches.

When sports does resume and if the Bundesliga season returns, Adams thinks his team has what it takes to hoist the trophy at the end. “I think that as a team, we know that our goal is to win the Bundesliga,” Adams remarks. Leipzig currently sits in 3rd place in the Bundesliga, 1 point behind Borussia Dortmund for 2nd and 5 points behind 1st place Bayern Munich. “As an individual, that’s my goal. All I’ve ever wanted to do is win. We do know that it’s not going to be easy.” As for the Champions League, where Leipzig currently wait to play in the quarterfinals, Adams says the team’s approach is “to continue to take it game by game, because that’s the mentality we’ve had so far in the process, and it’s continued to work.”

For now, Tyler Adams joins the rest of the world in self isolating to wait out the coronavirus pandemic, hoping that everyone does their part to flatten the curve: “I would say just don’t be selfish and don’t make a decision that only benefits yourself, but also think about what actions you’re doing and how they benefit other people....You have to look at the bigger picture.” Tyler Adams has big things ahead of him when life is able to safely resume, but right now he’s doing what the rest of us should be doing: staying safe, staying healthy, and staying at home.