Flashback to March 2020: activities started to be canceled and the hallways were buzzing with talk and estimates about closure. On March 13, the two week “break” was announced, which was just the beginning of a long pandemic journey.

In December 2021, students were faced with the same issues. Although the 2021-22 school year has been fully in-person, the risks of the pandemic are still prevalent and worsening by the day.

Along with the start of winter sports, COVID cases began to climb nationwide. Only three weeks into the season, schools began to start canceling games and more players started testing positive. It was announced on December 15 that all after-school activities have been postponed until January 3. This meant no practices, no games, no clubs, and no concerts. 

“It kind of felt like it was inevitable,” stated indoor track coach, Kevin McCoy. “We haven’t had any races yet which is unfortunate, and we just hope we can get something in.”

Now, what does this look like for the rest of this season? To make up for games that would have been played during the postponement, practices will be replaced with make-up games. This means a tighter game schedule for student athletes. There are also new guidelines in place, such as a postponement for teams with more than three positive cases.

During the closure, many athletes found themselves with more time on their hands that they wouldn’t normally have. Because practices are usually two hours after school and games tend to take up most of the night, many athletes were not used to this free time at home. Senior basketball player, Jasmin Kim, still found ways to stay active. “I plan on practicing at the park in addition to relaxing at home,” she stated before the resumption of the season. Athletes made it a point to stay in shape to be ready for the hopeful return.

With two years of their high school athletic careers already having been disrupted by COVID, seniors are holding their breath for the possibility of still being able to have a senior night and finish out their last high school games. “As a senior, I’ve put in so much work to prepare myself for my last year on the team. The possibility of it being completely canceled is what’s really worrying me,” added Kim. While many athletes are looking forward to games restarting on January 12, the dark cloud of a possible second closure still hangs over the heads of athletes. 

With the uncertainty of which direction the virus is headed, the students wish for the safest solution to ensure the quickest return to action. 

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