The Struggling of Sports During a Pandemic

Carmen Hodges, Sports Editor ‘21

The future of high school athleticism is on the rocks at the hand of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a struggle for high school sports across the country. Along with athletes not getting noticed by college scouts, they may not be receiving the scholarships they’ve been training for their whole lives. Student athletes have the same goal of receiving a scholarship to their dream college. 

Strong athletes are going through the same problem that’s going on, which is being on lock down from everything globally. But that doesn’t stop them from practicing and then reaching their goal. Girls Basketball Coach J says, “this year fall sports are becoming winter sports, and winter sports are becoming spring sports and spring sports are still staying in spring”. So this means spring will be packed filled with sporting events.  

Student athletes still have an opportunity and achieve their dream. They might not get there the way they thought or had envisioned they would but they can still get there. 

Vanden Basketball Coach and Health teacher, Allison Johnson, affectionately known by her students as Coach J says, “nationwide, all athletes in no matter which sport they play they are all feeling the same pain, of somehow not being able to play.” This sense of loss and pain is known as athletic depression. Athletic Depression is just the way it sounds: when athletes can’t play the sport they love or with the team they love, and when they do it may feel like they’ve become whole again. While all athletes are experiencing the same situation, each person feels it differently. “It could be dealing with a family member who has COVID or died because of it,” said Coach J. “Our athletes are all in the same boat and they are trying to stay healthy and stay mentally balanced because they are preparing to get back on their feet.” 

Struggling student athletes depend on the adults in their lives to continue to help them keep their chins up.. The spring season from last year was cut short by school closures in March, which left many students disappointed. Coach J says, “I believe that athletes should have a positive outlook because it gives them hope on what is to come in the future. If there was no plan they would lose kids so having that hope is really important.” Even though student athletes might not receive scholarships, they can still maintain hope by looking forward to future seasons.

 When they see scholarships coming in and going out, we don’t see what is going on behind the scenes. We may think they have it easy and are just good at sports but some athletes may have a sprained ankle or may be having a bad day, but they still have to show up to practice. There will be some sacrifices that they will have to make to continue being a part of the team. They can’t miss practice for whatever reason. Making the sacrifice, making the commitment, to be dedicated to the craft doesn’t mean they’ll make their dream come true but they have to make those sacrifices to even have a chance of making your dream.