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update on Sports New info and student athlete's thoughts on postponements

Published on: 1-25-2021

Senior cross country captain Lorenzo Gonzalez prepared himself to compete in cross country, but like other student athletes, had to sacrifice their sport in order to keep everyone safe. Hit with postponement after postponement, student athletes are now unclear whether their sport will continue this year.

Photo Courtesy of Miguel Yanez

“It sucks right now because we keep getting pushed back but it’s understandable since the cases are increasing but I’d rather just have a straight up if we’re running this year or not,” said Gonzalez.

All sports have been put on hold by the state. The initial start date for the first season was on December 7, 2020 for the tryouts of football, cross country, and girl’s volleyball. The season was postponed a week before tryouts by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) until further notice due to COVID-19 cases significantly rising in California. The decision disappointed some students because they are not able to play, but also relieved that the state is taking safety precautions.

Athletic director and varsity girl’s soccer coach Andy Waranoff says the governor and the CIF have control over what decisions are made and he can only share out information he is given and try to influence the district on local decisions to be made.

“Do I make any decisions? No, my role is to implement decisions that are made by other governing bodies like the North Coast Selection and the CIF, I handle our site level decisions and I am able to try to influence district decisions like I influenced the opening conditioning pods,” says Waranoff.

Senior varsity football player Nikolas Crum hasn’t played football since freshman year and he was about to play again his senior year and he is disappointed the season is postponed but he knows there is nothing we can do about it and he eventually just wants to play.

“It sucks but there is nothing we can do about it, we just have to hope we have a season,” Crum said.

Similar to Crum, senior varsity soccer player Joana Oregon is also upset at the fact that she might not play sports in her final year of highschool.

“Honestly, I feel sad because that’s something I was actually really looking forward to this year because it’s my last year of high school,” says Oregon.

Photo Courtesy of Carlos Baltierra

Junior soccer player and track runner Jocelyn Barragan was also looking forward to playing sports this year, but unlike Oregon she isn’t upset that sports are being postponed because safety should be put first.

“I understand why sports have been postponed and it doesn’t bother me, I know this needs to happen in order for cases to go down,” says Barragan.

Although the decision is not up to the district, Waranoff is optimistic that the student athletes will be able to play sometime this year.

“I am hopelessly optimistic, I am a little nervous now because coming out of winter break we can potentially have more surge of the virus, I do believe we will get to do something and I am eternally hopeful we will get to do something,” Waranoff said.

In the current situation, all student athletes can do is take on their social responsibility and hope that the cases take a downhill slope and sports begin.

“What gives us the best chance is all of us taking on this social responsibility that we have regardless of our own political affiliation or sense of what this virus is, if we accept the social responsibility to wear a mask, wash our hands frequently, practice social distancing, and to avoid large gatherings,” Waranoff said. “If we honor those guidelines and accept that social contract, we give ourselves a much better chance at getting the virus to a much lower risk and start the activities, and once the activities start the contract becomes even more important”

Created By
Jorge Gavino and Daniel Mendoza
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Credits:

Miguel Yanez Carlos Baltierra