"Every Single Person Has A Role To Play This Season;" An Update On Winter Sports
By Anika Turcotte
Sports are an important factor in school life. In today's climate, they not only provide exercise but social stimulation; more necessary than ever.
However, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding this year’s winter sports season. With statewide cases fluctuating and unclear reopening metrics, it is hard to predict when sports will start this year.
“Right now we are in a holding pattern,” says Matt Link, athletic coordinator at MHS. High schools across the state are awaiting the verdict from Governor Scott on the revised start date of the season.
Originally, the season was supposed to begin on November 30th, but as outbreaks bloomed throughout Vermont, all sports and in-person extracurriculars are on hold until December 15th.
Whether or not Governor Scott will renew the order then is yet to be seen.
Link is optimistic about a winter season, but not until numbers get under control. This will likely be after the holiday season.
The Vermont Agency of Education is responsible for the decision to begin school-related sports. The organization has not published specific metrics that will determine when the state is ready to continue sports.
“There won’t be a season unless everyone takes responsibility for their actions: in the gym and outside,” Link says. The entire community must be willing to adhere to the strict Covid-19 guidelines in order to get seasons up and running.
Once the state gets case and infection rates low enough to commence play, practices and games will look different for sure. There will be no fans allowed to watch in person. “It’s going to be the biggest factor,” says Link referring to the change, but athletes do not have much of a choice. “If we end up having another outbreak… we won’t have a season.”
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Grace Murphy is a Junior at MHS. She is optimistic about the winter season, even if it does not begin right away.
“Seeing how seamless the fall season went I have a lot of trust in our state that a basketball season can happen in a safe manner,” she says.
Murphy has been training for winter athletics since March. When restrictions were more relaxed, she practiced outdoors with Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) players. Now that the possibility of a season nears, she has been reaching out to others. "[I] have also been in contact with our head coach Brian Donoghue as well as emailing with some new players," says Murphy.
When it comes to her message to students, Murphy echoed Matt Link.
"Control the controllable," she says. "We can't control every decision that other people make, but we can control our own decisions."
Murphy urges students to realize that the season is a privilege and it needs to be treated as such.