The cheerleading and cross country team’s past and upcoming events and how they are operating safely
Elise Kaylor
Staff Writer
As things are starting to open up again and vaccines are rolled out, many sports’ seasons are beginning. Cheerleading and Cross-Country are examples of sports at American High that have been making the best of their time even though COVID-19 still has an average of 3,000 new cases in California as of March 24. They have also managed to overcome many obstacles while keeping safe protocols.
An advantage of Cross-Country being outside is that they are able to keep six feet apart and have masks on. Some other safety measures that were implemented include a screening process. The coach checks students’ temperatures and makes students fill out a form, ensuring that they do not have any symptoms. Once they are clear, they are assigned exercises and workouts and run the course at Quarry Lakes. However, the coach, Mr. Ramirez noted, “There’s definitely a decline in participants this year because of COVID-19 which is understandable. People need to take care of themselves. Safety should be first, but I appreciate anyone who did come out just to work out and be on the team.” The Cross-Country team has an exciting event coming up this week on Thursday and Friday: their first home meet at American. However, no spectators will be allowed in the meet to ensure minimum exposure.
The cheer team at American has similar protocols. They practice outside with masks and do only cheers. Since stunting involves physical contact, it is no longer included in their routines. On March 17, they had their first competition of the season. They cheered with props, such as flags, cardboard signs, and pom-poms. Because stunting was removed these props were very crucial to a good performance as they captured the eyes of the audience. They did their routine out in the basketball courts while being live-streamed. Now, the cheer team is practicing for their next competition which should be coming up in the next month or so.
It is encouraging to see students still doing the things they love even though they might not get the full experience. Though COVID-19 may prohibit many things, it is important to note how to still do the things you love, safely.
Eagle Era 