How Season 2 sports used to go vs. now amid the pandemic
Alvin Gonzales
Staff Writer
As of May 17, Season 2 student-athletes have not yet met their season conclusion and can only wait to see how their season turns out. However, student-athletes are reporting that because of their sport season’s occurrence amid the pandemic, they’ve had to adjust to the loss of certain aspects of their sport
Joshua Lim (11) is a Season 2 student-athlete who does wrestling, but is not able to continue his sport during the 2020-2021 sports season due to the Coronavirus; although, he is aware of how different the wrestling season is.
“My parents and I decided that I should just take a break from wrestling this year, but I know that the restrictions are pretty strict. You have to wear a mask at all times until you are actually in the match [and] they temperature check people now. COVID-19 took away the NCS, [North Coast Section] tournament for us wrestlers… so there would be no state tournament; it’s just the season against the nearby high schools,” Lim expressed, with acceptance of the somewhat disappointing turnout of the wrestling season.
Another Season 2 student-athlete is Daniel Visitacion (12), a varsity volleyball player who has already gone through two thirds of all his volleyball games.
“We finished our sixth game last Friday and we’re supposed to have three more. This year, we only have league games, but, before, we would have pre-season games to add on top of that. I feel like those [pre-season] games actually do help, because they give us more time to practice as a team in-game. Some of our varsity players from last year didn’t try out, but at the same time, our freshman players have all this hype that, when they use it in the game, we actually do a lot better,” Visitacion remarked.
Alivia Zhang (11), a badminton student-athlete, expresses her gratitude for even having a season this year despite the global and local circumstances that have impacted the way her season has to go.
“AHS badminton was a sport that not only helped us learn and improve our skills in badminton, but it was also a great way to meet new friends, bond with teammates, and help one another. Badminton [already] isn’t a popular sport here at AHS, so I think the team really helped us connect with one another and become closer. We already consider ourselves really lucky that a season was happening, especially since it is an indoor sport.
Zhang also speaks about the necessary precautions that must be taken in order to play during the pandemic.
“Usually every Tuesday and Friday we have to take a COVID test to see if we are all negative, that way, we know we are safe to meet the other teams. All of these changes I do not mind, but I do feel sad about our lack of time to practice, the limited amount of players on the team this year, and the fact that the majority of the schools we are supposed to play against do not have enough players.”
For Season 2 student-athletes like Julia Finuliar (10), the coronavirus has significantly taken away some of the fun of her basketball season and even some opportunities of exposure for the basketball players.
“Before COVID-19, games were very fun and exciting. I liked having a crowd to watch us play and cheer us on and a lot of people came to support and watch. Also, before COVID-19, we had more and longer practices, but I really enjoyed having a crowd and knowing people came to watch us play was just a nice feeling… COVID-19 has really taken a lot of things away from the seniors [since] usually there would be college scouts coming to the games, but now only parents are really allowed in.”
Eagle Era 