COVID Athlete Effects

Athletes At Work

Athletes talk about keeping up with sports after hiatus

By Kevin Padilla

In March of 2020, all AHS students and staff were pulled from school and forced to move on to distance learning. With this, all sport activities were forced to shut down after the transition into distance learning. AHS would not resume sports for another year until March 2021.

We spoke to 6 different athletes and asked them questions regarding how they managed to maintain interest, improve, or participate in their respective sport(s) while school sports were forced to shut down.

One of the biggest challenges of returning back to school for school athletes was maintaining the level of play they were at prior to the shutdowns. This was due to some athletes not having the resources to keep practicing their respective sport.

When asked whether a year and a half of not participating in school sports affected their muscle memory.

“Being away from high school sports for over a year made it difficult for my body to get back into the routine but it was almost like I never stopped playing.” Senior Tati Rodriguez said.

Freshman Orlando Batz is a baseball player who says he got into sports at a young age thanks to his siblings and dad. When asked what effect the time off had on him, this is what he had to say.

“Ever since we had that long break my ‘game’ doesn’t feel the same, making me feel like it ruined my rhythm.” Batz said.

Some athletes who weren’t given the option to play sports for their school were able to play the game they loved through clubs.

We asked seniors whether they had become involved in a club sport while not playing for their school and what those clubs asked from them.

“Yes, my coaches asked me to work on my plate vision for baseball.” Senior Angel Belloso said.

Senior Tati Rodriguez also added that coaches are focused on making sure the teams work well together.

“I do participate in sports outside of school and my coaches are currently focused on team chemistry as that communication is very important when trying to make a team work,” Rodriguez said.

How did you maintain or grow interest in the current sport you’re playing?

Senior Angel Belloso

“By continuing to play and watch videos of the game I grew to enjoy the sport a lot more.”

Sophomore Amaris Zaldana

“I’ve always loved playing soccer so I didn’t want my years of playing to be for nothing.”

Senior Tati Rodriguez

“I watched highlights on Youtube and on tv and that kept me interested.”

Sophomore Leila Rosa

“Soccer was one of the fisrt sports I connected with and it also helps me for college.”

Senior Erica Xie

“I always had a love for cross country and the community within, so coming back to that type of energy made me maintain interest.”

Freshman Orlando Batz

“Watching MLB games and being put in a league made me fall in love with baseball.”

Photographers Ashton Menge and Kevin Padilla