School sports are one of the best ways to build friendships and a sense of community within our school. We already have to do distance learning, which has led to a huge decline in student-to-student interaction. School sports can help fix this problem. I think that with proper Covid-19 protocols, we could have a safe functioning sports season. 

 

The decision to play should be left up to the student-athletes, coaches, and their families who are involved with the sport. If those three groups all want to play and sign a waiver then they should be able to play. To lessen the risk of the spread of Covid-19, teams should do their best to isolate themselves and create a bubble with their team. To ensure the safety of the players, before each practice and game players should get their temperatures checked and masks should be worn by everyone that is not playing the game. These and other precautions can drastically reduce the spread of Covid-19.

 

Healdsburg High School’s sports and indoor sports in general are being put at a disadvantage. Many private schools, like Cardinal Newman, have fully started practicing for almost all sports. The fact that our school won’t allow any indoor sports team’s into the gyms is going to put us at a huge disadvantage when we end up coming face to face against these private schools. 

 

The lack of high school organized sports has led some to go to club teams. Full-on games and tournaments are happening across the state with little issue. These students play because they want college exposure. Many kids across the country don’t have the money to pay for college or academic prowess to get academic scholarships. Some are born with great athleticism and their only way to get into college is through getting a sports scholarship. If schools chose to cancel or even shorten sports seasons it dashes the already small chance of these students to get athletic scholarships. 

 

It is a pretty simple decision for me. If the people involved fully understand the risk and are willing to take them, what right does anyone have to stop them? Many committed student-athletes are ready and willing to play but they are being held back by the school district and the state. If the correct Covid-19 precautions are kept and not violated throughout the season I think there would be little cause for concern.