Almost 365 days ago, the virus known as COVID-19 struck us and put all sports in the United States out of play, from parks and rec, to high school, to professional sports. Recently sports have slowly made their way back as society has begun to adapt to the virus and the vaccine is being distributed as we speak.  However, just recently for Huntingtown High School, sports have returned to school. This season of sports for Huntingtown High School is a little different, however. As sports are returning, they’re out of their designated season. Fall sports are entering the spring and the spring weather is affecting the performance and condition of both fields and players this year. Because the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay, sports that are usually played in the fall 66-70 degree climate are now suffering from the spring climate this year.

During the time I had to learn about the differences of these sports out of their designated season, on my own, I got the time to sit down with other students, as well as with Huntingtown High School Athletic Director, Mr. Gross. “When it comes to this year being different with mask policies and a different climate what is the biggest struggle of all?” I asked the  students. “The biggest factor is the climate; this year, it makes everything more difficult because of the rain and cold weather,” was the response.

The next question I focused on was with Mr. Gross when I asked, “What about students who play two different sports, one in the fall and one in the spring?” He replied stating, “We staggered out the schedules for Spring and Fall Sports so students wouldn’t have to worry about having to miss a football practice for a baseball practice.”

Mr. Gross went on to explain details of the COVID impact: “We try to keep our students as safe as possible and if there’s any conflicting events with the virus then we will have to keep that team suspended for 2 weeks and that’s the limit of it. We want everyone to play.” As for the students’ feelings on this matter: “It’s hard for sure, nobody really likes it, but we push through it to do what we love.”

Personally, I believe that the climate this year will only affect the fall sports athletes in the beginning, as the climate will only be colder early in the season, but as the spring goes on the weather will reach up to the 60-70 degree range which is the average temperature in the fall. The differences I see this year, being a student athlete myself, are conditions being changed on fields, courses, and pitches as each are not kept as nicely as they used to be, considering that they were unkept for a few months and are now being fixed.  Golf courses are usually kept nice even during the COVID-19 pandemic, but at this time I believe the grass for baseball fields, soccer pitches, golf courses, and football fields will be a little different than they’ve been for recent years.

Another big difference I’ve seen between fall sports and spring sports this year is obviously the mask policy which requires athletes to “wear a mask at all times” for every sport. I believe that this ruling is excessive regarding golf and cross country as they are both defined by sports associations as “natural social distancing sports” meaning that social distancing is naturally involved in the sports, even before the pandemic.

This year of sports will seem different for fall student athletes with the climate and the new mask policy being uncomfortable for some people.  Even so, I am confident that even without every county and team returning to sports, Huntingtown will be expecting many wins.