COVID-19 Infects High School Sports

Covid-19 has brought an enormous impact on society.  Empty stadiums, shortened seasons, postponement, and utter cancelation. It’s not far off to say that COVID has infected the world of sports. Sports like basketball, football, and baseball are back, but unlike how it’s been, they have to follow COVID-19 protocols. School sports have been altered and are held back until spring. Currently, LAUSD students are prohibited from team practices. Due to this dangerous disease, it seems like all it takes is one infected player to shut down a team.

 “One thing I miss is those times before the game we would get all hyped and wish each other good luck throughout the game whether we end up losing or not. We gave it our best and we had fun, that is all that matters.” said, Isaiah Vaifanua.

The football team Captain Isaiah Vaifanua had unforgettable memories despite the state of jeopardy high school sports are in. It was fun playing last season with the team. We won 3 games and the other ones we lost, but it doesn’t matter. We just had a good time playing, fun times with the team. 

“When football returns it will be different. Rules will be different. But we gotta play the game like how it’s supposed to be played.” Isaiah said.

Referring to when football and all sports return, not all things will be the same. Things will be different and not really to how it was in the previous season. As of right now, the risks of going back to school and bringing back sports are high. Whether it was a win or lose, the team gave it their best. 

“I understand why they are being postponed until the spring. I would have been concerned about how sports would safely start in the fall. I’m looking forward to sports in the spring.” She, also “As of now LA county is still in the purple tier (highest), so I believe we should wait until it comes down more.’’ Lissa Fukuda, P.E/Athletic coach said.

Fukuda says march had some uncertainties. As we know, the rates of COVID-19 increased. Until the cases for covid began to decrease into a safer zone, she believes the safest course of action is to delay sports activities.

This pandemic is one of the biggest things California has ever experienced. Fukuda also says that he was not really surprised when the government announced that all schools were closing. 

Assistant Athletic Director, Dwayne Tatnall also speaks of the camaraderie of the athletes and student body. Athletics brings the school together, but there are also precautions we should make.

“Cleanliness is important! Children like to believe that someone will clean up after them. Now, they must be attentive to their hygiene and beware of others.” Tatnall said.

Reflecting on the previous season, he still has high hopes for this year’s football season, but at the same time, he keeps a realistic point of view about the situation.

“That is a good question. I would like to say yes, but they lost some valuable seniors who need to be replaced. Because of the pandemic, they missed out on summer practice.”

It is definitely a tough pill to swallow, but we must accept that the cancellation of high school sports is a possibility. Although sports are one of the most important memories you make during high school we must ensure that it is completely safe, not only for the player but for everyone as a whole.