Gallery • 3 Photos

Wrestlers start practicing with their partners while maintaining social distancing

Overview

Winter sports are able to have a season that they were worried they would not have.  Athletes and coaches want to stay open and prevent anyone from getting sick to have a full season. Problems also occur due to scheduling and trying to get practice plans organized and ready for the season. Athletic Director Jennifer Burks states, “There are less competitions already scheduled and it is inevitable that there will be some that will probably get cancelled due to quarantine.” Even though the athletes will not get a full season they still get a few games to compete in. 

Athletes view of the season

Being an athlete this year can be very stressful and worrisome with having to be cautious for themselves and their teammates.  If an athlete gets quarantined by someone that got COVID from school they would be out for a few games. When asked what he is nervous about this season, junior wrestler Trevor Brimhall states, “Definitely not being able to play due to COVID.” It definitely has a big impact on athletes to not be able to play the sport you love for two weeks. A major concern is that during practice athletes feel safe and comfortable with other athletes. Senior soccer player Cole Grant, “I feel like we are all pretty spread out and we don’t do drills with that many people all at one time and we kinda each have our own ball and do things separately.” Athletes and coaches are doing the best they can to try and do their part in preventing the spread of COVID even if it means changing practice procedures and methods of practicing.

Coaches

view of the season

Coaches are working hard to find ways for the athletes to be able to practice and participate in games. Coaches are taking certain precautions to help them keep everyone safe and spread out. Soccer coach Jason Berg states, “Certainly I think when they enter and exit I think it’s gonna be different cause we mask up on the way in and we mask up on the way out. A lot of times they just kind of have a hodgepodge of 50 to 100 kids all together [on the field] now we’re kinda separating them as they get their stuff on and we try to social distance 6 to 8 feet.” Practicing for a sport is definitely something that is not easy but if everyone does their share it could be a healthy season for winter sports.