Luckily for us, our local high school sports teams have not really changed this season due to COVID-19. The only difference in the games and practices is when people have to wear masks, stay socially distanced, and a limited number of fans in the stands.

Freshman football player Wyatte Gray said, “Our schedule stayed the same but the audience changed.”

The audiences at the games have to stay socially distanced while wearing masks. Plus there is only a certain amount of people allowed to go to the games: first come first served. Gray also said, “Practices haven’t gotten to much harder besides wearing masks.”

Any sport at our Thunder Ridge now has to wear masks during practices, while the audience has to wear masks during the games. 

Sophomore soccer player Olivia Christensen said, “We were told that we might not be able to play soccer after COVID, but we ended up getting to anyways.” A lot of our sports teams were told the same thing. Christensen was told and they all were just waiting to hear if they could play this season or have to wait till next season, which no one wanted to wait till next season. Luckily everyone is playing their regular seasons.  

But although everyone gets to play, wearing masks was one of the hardest things to do during practices. Christensen said, “We have worn masks during some practices, and it sucks because it is super hard to breathe when running around.”

But they don’t have to wear their masks during games due to some social distancing when running around. If one player gets sick, the coaches play it safe by having that player, as well as others around them, to stay at home until their symptoms go away.

So the players don’t have to wear masks during games and some practices if it is a warm-up practice where people are socially distanced. 

To keep our games open, please stay socially distanced, wear your masks, and follow the CDC guidelines. Stay safe and be kind everyone.