Winter sports weathers the impact of COVID-19

Gwendolyn Warren, Staff Writer

Girls’ varsity basketball

Gabi Barnes (’22), girls’ varsity basketball player, had hoped to play a full final season, but with the spikes, the team is facing a shorter season. Barnes explains COVID-19 being a major impact on being able to play with her team. 

“COVID-19 has caused us to have practices and half of our league games canceled. Some of my teammates and I have had to sit out for ten days and it leaves our team incomplete when we have to play. Everyone wears a mask at all times but it’s kind of hard to social distance when playing basketball,” Barnes said. 

Girls’ varsity soccer

Girls’ varsity soccer player, Julia Carlson (’22), explains the new routine the team has adapted to conform to the guidelines while still being able to train. 

“Throughout the soccer program we have taken many great precautions. We try to keep our masks on as much as possible while playing and distance ourselves as much as we can while getting water, changing in the locker room and when sitting on the bench during games. It is definitely not the same as it used to be, but our coaches have done a great job keeping it fun, while also keeping us all safe and negative,” Carlson said. 

Girls’ varsity water polo 

Ava Jennings (’22), co-captain of girls’ varsity water polo, explains the new protocols that balance with the athletes’ practices to perform to their best ability. 

“To make sure our practices are safe, we haven’t been doing as much hands-on defense as we normally would. We are taking this time to work on our shooting and other aspects of our offense,” Jennings said. 

As the team only had one game canceled for their season, the COVID-19 health guidelines are strict, but still allow athletes to train and compete. 

Boys’ varsity basketball

As many athletes hoped for a consistent season, basketball also experienced interruptions with games being postponed two weeks due to rising cases. Joshua Hecht (’23) is still staying confident and hopeful for his season. 

“To stay optimistic through these hard times, I am hoping that every team is staying as safe as possible from COVID-19 to make sure we can train and compete,” Hecht said.

Boys’ varsity soccer

With safety regulations in place, the boys’ soccer team faced a shorter season to comply with the new protocols of stricter rules on wearing masks.  Colin Swimmer (’23), junior varsity soccer player, expresses the importance of staying positive through these hard times. 

“COVID-19 has postponed our first three games which makes the season much shorter and harder to get into CIF. As an athlete, I am following COVID-19 protocol and working as if we are going to have a season in order to stay optimistic about it,” Swimmer said. 

Co-ed varsity wrestling

With contact sports like wrestling, David Jensen (’22), a member of the Samo wrestling team, explains the new rules that are set. 

“We have to adapt by practicing at the beach during COVID-19 spikes, and we now wear masks while practicing,” Jensen said. 

Though some of their tournaments have been canceled, like their league meet, the team is still training and getting ready to compete again.