Girls Soccer

Tigers begin season again

Girls soccer team restarts after COVID-19 quarantine

Nate Albin albinnat000@hsestudents.org

Right when the girls soccer season began, it was put on hold. After visiting McCutcheon and scoring an 8-0 victory, their season was suddenly stopped. Due to exposure to COVID-19, the team was put into quarantine. This meant that the team was no longer able to play games or even meet up to practice for 14 days. Once they were able to return, the team had to hit a practice threshold so they could be considered fit to play. “We had to readjust,” junior Sami Bird said. “After quarantine, we had to complete 6 practices before we could play a game.” The girls team missed a lot of in-person training, but they still put in work virtually. During their Zoom training, the coaches strived to keep practice as similar as possible. “We did all the same training we would do at practice, besides playing competitions,” coach Samantha James said. “The girls watched more film than usual, which we felt helped when we came back to live competition.” The team’s first game was on Aug. 15, but it took until Sept. 5 for the team to play a second game. In their return, they faced defending state champions, Noblesville. This return brought some extra emotions. “The girls were definitely nervous to come back and play,” James said. “But having the game be against Noblesville brought a new level of nerves. A lot of their club teammates play for Noblesville, so of course they wanted to come out strong and with a win.” Noblesville defeated the Tigers 1-0 that night. Despite losing in their return, the team felt they were more connected as a group after the quarantine. “We got a lot closer,” Bird said. “It served as a bonding moment. We learned to get closer without being in person.” For some of the players on the team, the initial response to COVID-19 was not as serious. But after the quarantine, the team experienced a shift in its perspective on the pandemic. “Before the quarantine, there were instances where girls forgot to have masks on or would get really close to each other,” junior Taylor Hamilton said. “We started making sure to stay safe at practice so that we could continue with our season.” Hamilton noted the quarantine was a wake-up call for her off the field as well. She sees how connected safety on and off the field are now. “I have definitely gotten more nervous about how quickly it spreads,” Hamilton said. “I was obviously nervous before, but once I realized how it can happen, I learned I have to do everything I can to protect the people around me. I have to be smart and make sure I don’t bring anything dangerous to my team or home to my family.”