Winter sports adapt to Covid changes

Story by Mia Gatti- Staff Reporter

 

As we all know this season for all winter athletes has been very different than in past years. From the games and the meets to practices and extra activities that everyone gets excited for in this season has changed a lot. 

Starting with the swim and dive team they have had many changes to their season resulting in the cancelation of big multi-team meets that they have not been able to compete in.

“Our team is just pushing through our season one day at a time. We are having both meets and practices, although many things look different this year. At practice, we are restricted in how many girls we can have in each lane, and lane assignments are necessary to avoid losing big chunks of the team to contact tracing. Meets have also looked different this year, the main change being the size of the meets. Most of our Multi team invites this year were canceled, leaving us with a schedule much more Dual meet and Tri meet heavy,” Thomas Faulkenberry, Swim and Dive Coach, said.

Even though the swim and dive team has had some unfortunate cancellations they still have been able to have a good season by practicing every day and preparing themselves for obstacles that can come their way that are out of their control. The girls basketball team has been also getting through their crazy season by practicing every day and staying flexible. They have had to have some games canceled due to quarantines but hopefully are rescheduled in the future. They can have people come to their games but very limited.

“We are able to have 2 spectators at our home games. It depends on the other school for away games on how many spectators we get, but usually, it is two. We have had many normal practices, and have had to reschedule a couple of games, but most have been normal,” Ellie Stafford, sophomore, said.

The adjustments made for all teams during this winter season have been crucial for the season to continue. 

“We continue to use masks and social distance when possible. Some of the coaches have started working with teams in small groups to limit quarantines for a large number of the teams,” Mike McGurk, Athletic Director, said.

All coaches and players and other staff have done a great job to keep all seasons sports in session this whole school year as long as they can and keeping everyone safe during this crazy time. The perseverance within all athletes has been amazing across all sports, and this is what is needed when getting through a time like now.