The spring sports season has returned after last year’s unfortunate shutdown. 

With just about three months of competition, spring athletes are making the best out of their seasons. Unlike winter sports, spring athletes are not required to wear face masks while they practice and compete. As of May 7, masks are required for coaches, officials, and spectators if a spring sport is indoors but masks are “optional, but encouraged” if a sport is outdoors. 

Precautions for sports have continued to extend to prevent the spread of disease. In various spring sports, athletes are required to stay in small groups to avoid affecting the entire team. Additionally, athletes are still trying to adapt to the challenging environment but are still finding ways to connect with all of their teammates. We reached out to various spring sports players to see what they had to say about this year’s unprecedented season:

Colby Sorensen (Senior – Boys Lacrosse Captain)

What is a primary goal that you have for the team this year?

“The goal this year for the team is to make it to the state tournament. This year, we are a very young team, and a lot of these younger guys have something to prove.”

How do you think this year will be different from previous years?

“Our coaches [don’t] know much of the guys because they were all underclassmen the last time we had a season. Because of that, a lot of the guys on our team don’t have much experience playing at a varsity level. We are basically hitting a restart button because of the gap year we had last year.”

What are some ways your team plans to adapt to the unique situation this year?

“As far as our team is concerned, everything should look pretty similar to as it did 2 years ago. As of right now, we can have five practices a week along with games with little to no limitations. I haven’t really seen much of a difference in our practice style this year. Our team [does] have our own little bubble that we will start within.”

What might be your team’s biggest obstacle this year?

“I think our biggest obstacle overall is going to be inexperience. We are a young team, but all of us are up for the challenge of having a great year.”

What do you look forward to most this year?

“What I look forward to most is just being able to play this year. Our team this year is very fortunate to even have a season, so I think all of us are playing for those who didn’t get to last year.”

Neve Oettinger (Senior – Girls Lacrosse Captain)

What is a primary goal that you have for the team this year?

“My goal for our team this year is to compete as a team and learn how to carry out plays.”

How do you think this year will be different from previous years?

“I think this year will be extra complicated to plan team bonding activities. Usually, we would do [many team bonding activities] but with COVID, we aren’t allowed to do any. We also have a meeting coach that I think will really turn our program into a good, cohesive team.” 

What are some ways your team plans to adapt to the unique situation this year?

“Our team will have to do some at-home training as long as Zoom practices. [For example], our coach has talked about doing Zoom yoga.”

What might be your team’s biggest obstacle this year?

“I think our team’s biggest obstacle this year will be learning [our new coaching staff] and how to overcome COVID difficulties. Team bonding will need to be done in very different ways.”

What do you look forward to most this year?

“I really look forward to seeing the growth each individual girl has made with two years off. I think we have a very strong team with everyone hoping to be the best player they can be. We also have two foreign exchange students playing with us so watching them play lacrosse for the first time will be super fun!”

McKenna O’Brien (Senior – Girls Track & Field Captain)

What is a primary goal that you have for the team this year?

“The primary goal for the team this year is to just have a great time and make the most out of the season! Since some things aren’t really going our way, I think it is important to look at the bright side and just enjoy the things we can do and the time we get to spend together!”

How do you think this year will be different from previous years?

“I think this year will definitely be more challenging than previous years because of the COVID restrictions, but I also think that because it is so challenging, we will definitely become closer as a team and look out for each other more than we have in previous years. We always like to say that we are all in this together and that is something that we really hold onto with all of the unexpected challenges that we are facing.”

What are some ways your team plans to adapt to the unique situation this year?

“Our team has had to adapt to being split up by event groups, so each event goes to their own practice and then has to go home without really seeing other people that do other events and that has been kind of sad and something that has been difficult to get used to. In previous years, we would meet as an entire team and then split up so it’s definitely been hard to not see everyone and be together as a whole team.” 

What might be your team’s biggest obstacle this year?

“I think the biggest obstacle is the limited contact that we have with each other and coaches. Even though we each have our own individual events, we still need to support each other and be there for each other and with the COVID restrictions, we are finding it difficult to do that. I think that even though this whole situation is not ideal, we still find ways to make the most out of the season that we do have and we even find ways to support each other, which I think is very important for our team to be successful.”

What do you look forward to most this year?

“I am looking forward to just running with my teammates and being able to practice with them in person because it’s always so fun to talk to everyone. With the season being canceled last year, I think it has made me more appreciative of every practice and meet that we are now able to have, so I am looking forward to enjoying every one of them and cheering on my teammates for one last season!”

Allen Gong (Junior – Boys Tennis Captain)

What is a primary goal that you have for the team this year?

“The primary goal I have for the team this year is making state. I would say that this year is our best chance to make state and our team definitely has the potential, so it would be a great experience if we all made state this year.”

How do you think this year will be different from previous years?

“I think this year will be different because we have a good chance of making state. As a team, I feel like we’re all motivated to work hard and improve as much as we can in order to increase our chances of [going to state].”

What are some ways your team plans to adapt to the unique situation this year?

“I think the fact we even got a season has changed the way we practice since we utilize every session as best as we can. There really isn’t much the team is adapting to besides COVID regulations.” 

What might be your team’s biggest obstacle this year?

“Our team has lots of new players. Many of us aren’t that experienced in playing tennis competitively, so the lack of experience is probably going to be an obstacle.”

What do you look forward to most this year?

“I definitely look forward to sections the most since that’s what we [have to] win in order to make state. If we can advance to state, then that would become what I look forward to the most. Making state would be a very memorable experience, so I’m hoping we can pull through this year!”