Many students would never have thought that we would ever be playing school sports under the circumstances in which we are. At first, as all our athletes know, the fall sports season was postponed until the spring. But, to the surprise of many, the decision was overturned and practices were set to start on September 28th. With this decision came the big question: is having the fall sports seasons safe?  

Many safety precautions have been taken in order to keep all of our student-athletes safe. The main one being that all players are required to wear face masks at all times, on and off the field. The only exception being water breaks. Even then, you have to be at least 6 feet apart and socially distant from everyone. During the summer league for soccer, you weren’t required to wear masks but there were restrictions to the game itself; no one was allowed inside the 6-yard box, no one was allowed to head the ball and no throw-ins, and only kick-ins were allowed.

I myself, being on the soccer team, don’t particularly mind having to wear the masks while playing. Ironically, running with a mask on isn’t anything new. Trainers have been using masks on runners for a long time, actually, to simulate high-altitude conditions.

Another big change that has come with the decision to have sports this fall is the decision to not allow fans to come to the games. This was definitely a huge let down to many parents and students alike. But many parents and fans have resorted to watching the games live or watching the recording. I still don’t think, though, that either of those is nearly as exciting as being on the bleachers cheering our quaker athletes on. Although this was a huge letdown, I think we should still all be grateful for the fact that the sports season is even happening at all. One more notable change for the fall sports season is the decision for there to only be varsity games. This means no JV or freshman teams are competing, at least against other schools.

In conclusion, there are many safety precautions being taken to keep all of our athletes safe and corona free during this pandemic and although there are a few changes that may be a little bit annoying to us, we should all still be grateful that we are able to partake in fall sports this season. And at the end of the day, school sports at Wilmington Friends is part of what makes this school great!