Written by Sequoia Loya (Sports Writer)
These are trying times for our SLVHS Cougar students, especially our athletes who are used to working out and staying fit. With schools being closed, this also means that the gym and field are closed. Finding places to work out and practice a variety of sports is hard to come by but not impossible. More than 830,000 cases of Coronavirus are confirmed worldwide so even though school being closed is very difficult, it is absolutely essential that we follow the shelter-in-place order.
Many people are getting tired of sheltering in place and are gathering together to protest the quarantine order. It is very important to remain calm and patient during these boring, difficult, and trying times. We are not supposed to be fighting with each other but instead looking after each other. Helping each other through sluggish periods as well as encourage each other to exercise is important to staying healthy.
These are hard times for high school athletes as high school sports are non-existent due to COVID-19. Students are having to find other means of staying in shape and staying active during the quarantine. One of my friends on the swim team, Elliot Bowers suggested this advice, ¨learning a new hobby will not only take up your free time but also give you a new skill you could work on in the future.¨ Some hobbies during quarantine might include weight lifting, learning a new musical instrument, a new language, etc.
Track season would have normally started in March and would have normally ended in June. That is about four months of activity that these students missed out on. I have a quote from one of our track athletes, who stated, ¨It is hard to see the sports season get canceled but when it comes to the safety of the people, people always come first.¨ It looks like SLVHS students clearly care about the health and safety of others. Even though this means they must sacrifice the athletics that are important to them. They understand the seriousness of the situation.
The experiences that you get from a season of sports helps you get prepared for next season. The grueling workouts, the discipline, skills, and the chemistry you develop as a team all play an important role in developing an athletic career. It will be interesting to see how this pandemic will have an effect on next season’s sports. This virus is affecting the future of youth sports and possibly sports in general. It is still uncertain if there will be any practices held during the summer.
A sophomore tennis player said, ¨Me, being a member of the high school tennis team, I’m very sad that we have stopped but this does not mean that we have lost our sport. It just means that we are taking a break for everyone’s’ sake.¨ This is an optimistic way of looking at this situation. There’s still plenty of opportunities to do at home workouts in order to stay in shape and get good conditioning to prepare for the year ahead.
The golf, softball, and baseball teams all have one thing in common, they have all been canceled and many of the players wanted to prove themselves in the upcoming games. The seniors have worked hard to get to this season for three years only to be canceled for the following school year. At least freshmen through juniors have a shot at improving and learning new skills hopefully this upcoming year. This quarantine has got to be tough on all of the Senior players. Hopefully, this doesn’t affect the senior’s chance to get sports scholarships for colleges.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the quarantine shutdown will not last forever. In fact, some places are beginning to slowly open their doors. This is a good opportunity to practice kindness to our friends and family and to encourage our fellow students to stay active as much as possible so that reconditioning won’t be as hard when school starts back up again. I think I speak for many students when I say that it will be so nice to get back into a normal routine, see friends, and get back in the game of sports again.
The Claw 