For many high school athletes this year, the thought of not getting a high school sports season is worrying. One thing is for sure, most high school sports will not be played by the end of the year, as mandated by the California Interscholastic Federation. However, athletes should look forward to January as a potential starting point for high school sports this year.
The district has forecasted some rough dates on when different sports seasons will start and end. But in this unconventional day in age, nothing is set in stone quite yet. Water polo, cross country, volleyball, and football all are set to start training on the 14 of December, with seasons starting at varying dates, with football having the latest first competition on January 8. Water polo, cross country, and volleyball all will have their first matches on December 28.
Winter sports will get their start a couple of months into the 2021 year. Badminton, soccer, and tennis will hold practices beginning on the 22 of February, with matches then being played starting on the 8 of March.
For the spring season, athletes can expect to start practicing on the 15 of March and have their seasons end sometime in June.
But as for anything, these dates are not concrete and set to change. It’s difficult to forecast whether the state would be ready to have players start competing by December, so it’s best to check the San Mateo Unified School District website on any changes made to the schedule, or sports season in general.
While the fall season now may seem far away, San Mateo athletes can begin prepping by participating in athletic training for fall sports. With that, the district has put in many restrictions on how the program will run. All sessions will be run outside, with a limited amount of participants. When in the weight room, there will be a maximum number of people allowed at a time, with mask-wearing required. There will also be a routine cleaning of the athletic facilities to ensure the safety of the students.
Sadie Kilar, a senior, has attended socially distant San Mateo training sessions. Most of these sessions take place virtually, over Zoom, although they still do practice in person. Athletes during these sessions are required to wear masks. Overall, Kilar believes these restrictions do make it a “safe environment for training”.
Students also now have the option to reserve San Mateo School District fields online, if they want to train at any time from 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm during the school week.
Overall, San Mateo athletes should expect a lot of changes and perhaps some setbacks to getting back on the field. But on the bright side, there is a plan to have a season after all.