Samo athletics inches closer to a return to campus
By Ava Bourdeau, Staff Writer
With COVID-19 evolving rapidly, the fate of Samo sports remains up in the air. Nevertheless, SMMUSD has a tentative plan in place that they are constantly updating to best fit the current circumstances. On the SMMUSD website, a thorough outline of the new protocol with guidelines on sanitation procedures, athlete requirements and more has been posted.
All sports are limited to outdoor, contact-free practices, with all sporting events cancelled for the time being. The district has adopted a cohort system, in which students are assigned to groups of no more than 12 athletes and two coaches, and may only practice within those groups. Each coach is only allowed to work with one cohort. This system is intended to limit the risk of transmission, as students will be exposed to fewer people than they would during a typical practice.
Until this method is put into action, coaches are getting creative, leading their athletes through modified workouts and “practices” over Zoom. While it is imperative that athletes stay in shape, these sessions are no substitute for in-person work. Coaches have found this very difficult, including water polo coach Matthew Flanders.
“Not having access to a pool, and not having face to face interactions with my athletes has been difficult. You can only Zoom so much,” Flanders said.
Unfortunately for fall sports, such as basketball, being unable to practice in person also means that their games are cancelled. This has been rather disappointing to dedicated players, such as JV basketball player Yohannes Mihret (’23).
“CIF said we may be able to play around March… if it wasn’t for COVID-19 we would be playing right now,” Mihret said.
Mihret remains hopeful that basketball could have somewhat of a season, as his coach seemed very optimistic that things may be looking up for the sport. The girls’ lacrosse coach, Brain Patenaude, also has a positive outlook; however, some are still pessimistic, as circumstances are constantly changing.
“Because lacrosse is a spring sport, our coach is very optimistic and is signing us up for tournaments… I’m not so sure though, since other spring sports have already had their games cancelled,” lacrosse player Clare Hummer (’22) said.
CIF has released a modified schedule in order to continue their championships despite COVID-19 infringing upon the typical timeline. Currently, all Section start dates are scheduled within the months of this December and January 2021. However, Samo teams are limited to practices until next semester. Coaches and athletes alike are doing their best to adapt to this new normal.
Students and employees are required to perform a self-screening prior to coming to school for practices, which requires students to monitor their temperatures, as well as take note of any potential COVID-19 symptoms (ie. coughing, fatigue, etc). Students will also be screened for temperature upon arrival. Anyone who fails to pass either the self-screening or temperature check will be prohibited from attending practice, and must immediately return home and await isolation instructions from the school nurse.
COVID-19 has presented a critical problem to many athletes, especially seniors hoping to impress colleges. Those who found a community for themselves through sports are now faced with the loss of integral interaction, and the fear of losing progress is prevalent.
“It has been hard for those who are being recruited to college to play or swim. They feel like they are falling behind,” Flanders said.
No matter what happens, it is undeniable that things will continue to change. The best we can do right now is keep informed, and Samo athletes can hope to return to their respective courts, fields and pools very soon.