Freshman athletes robbed of four-year sports experience
By Gwendolyn Warren, Staff Writer
This school year, many incoming freshmen were not able to try out for any sports, which meant that they were unable to join a Samo team. The class of 2024 lost their full four-year athletic experience, while all other grades were able to maintain a sense of community, even if it was just through Zoom workouts, in these troubling times.
Many sports such as cross country, football, wrestling and track and field allowed freshmen to try out for the sport and participate as an athlete this year. However, sports such as volleyball and soccer did not hold tryouts for freshmen. Freshmen that wanted to pursue these sports, but were not allowed to, are facing a disadvantage for next year when they will be trying out for the first time as sophomores along with a huge group of incoming freshmen. This will surely make the tryouts more competitive.
For the 2021-2022 school year, with the vaccine being in place, school is expected to be open after a long year of distance-learning. Sports are hopeful that during the summer they will be able to hold practices and tryouts for all students at Samo. Additionally, the incoming sophomores will go into the season unprepared and out of shape because they were unable to participate in Zoom workouts.
Violet Kienzle (’24), was not able to try out for the soccer team at Samo due to COVID-19 conflicting with tryouts for the newcomers. Kienzle explains that tryouts for next year will be competitive.
“I do think it will be more competitive next year because not only are you competing with people in your grade to get on the team, you are now competing with the whole grade below,” Kienzle said.
Furthermore, freshmen athletes are not getting the ideal training they need to be able to play at a high school level. The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped training for months, and freshmen at Samo who were lucky enough to be able to join a team are only working out via Zoom calls. Those who are not on any Samo team at all, especially if they do not participate in club sports, have to plan their workouts entirely by themselves.
As many sophmores, juniors and seniors got a little bit of athletic experience at Samo, it is unfortunate to see that the class of 2024 could not get their first year in. Being on a team creates long lasting high school memories of friendship and fun competition. As most Samo sports are meeting regularly, either via Zoom sessions or socially-distanced in-person practices, student athletes are still able to enjoy the community and friends that come with Samo athletics. Unfortunately, most Samo freshmen have not had this experience.
Kienzle also expresses that her first year of high school will not be the same as to what others had before COVID-19. For Kienzle, not participating on the soccer team leads to missing out on the high school experience due to COVID-19.
“I do feel a little like I’m missing out on that important high school experience because I’ve watched my sister over the years play on the high school soccer team and saw how much fun she would have, so I really looked forward to it,” Kienzle said.
Principal Antonio Shelton expresses the influence COVID-19 will have on future team dynamics at Samo.
“There is an impact across the league and with that impact it will depend on the individuals that are practicing and participating. We are human and the people part of that is what allows you to develop friendships and a team. But across the state, everyone is going to have some similar problems in regards to building a team because everyone was individual for so long,” Shelton said.
In the hopes of tryouts occurring next year, for now, freshmen have been robbed from the student athlete experience.