Livestreaming sports & new turf coming soon

CHANGES ON HORIZON FOR MCLEAN ATHLETICS

MCLEAN PREPARES TO LIVESTREAM GAMES

MADIE TURLEY REPORTER

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic sent the public into a strict quarantine, high school athletes around the country watched as their sports seasons were canceled. After seven months of selfisolation, fall teams have re-implemented green and yellow days, and McLean’s athletes have begun to return to the fields.

With the first sports season of the year quickly approaching, McLean has been looking for a plan to safely reinstate sports, while matching the competitive atmosphere of the regular season.

Their solution: livestreaming games.

“We have the equipment,” Director of Student Activities Greg Miller said. “We’re probably one of the first schools ready to livestream.”

Livestreaming games would allow for the simple distribution of live game footage to hundreds of McLean students and parents, while also complying with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s group gathering restrictions.

“Fairfax County Public Schools currently have some regulations in place [about streaming games],” Miller said. “[But] if the county gives us the OK, we are ready to rock and roll with livestreaming. It’s something as a school we’re pushing hard to have.”

With the McLean administration on board to transition to livestreamed sports games, athletes are conflicted.

“I play off of energy. When a lot of people are watching I get really hyped up. Hearing the crowd react feels so good and it gives me all the energy,” varsity girls basketball player Mia Fitzgerald said. “[On the other hand], I don’t want to mess up in front of my family members, or look bad for them, so if they’re watching from home, it would be pretty good for me.”

Waiting for the green light from the county, McLean athletes and their fans will have to remain patient to find out when the cameras will start rolling.

Additional reporting by Josh Bass & Emily Friedman

NEW TURF COMING TO FOOTBALL FIELD

ISABELLA DIPATRI & JOSEPHINE PHILLIPS REPORTERS

For years, the McLean Highlanders have put their blood, sweat and tears into their sports on the football field. Although athletes have made countless memories on this field, from simple gym class activities to intense football games, the time has come for the turf to be replaced.

A turf field usually lasts about 10 years, and McLean’s turf has been used for close to nine years. Fairfax County officials contacted the athletics board at McLean to inform them that the turf is nearing its replacement.

“The stadium is getting new turf on top, which is different from a project of getting a brand new turf field and [requires] less work,” Director of Student Activities Greg Miller said.

Miller hopes they will be able to replace the turf while students are still in online learning, so McLean athletes would be able to begin practices when fall sports start back up again in February.

The appearance of the field will stay almost exactly the same, so students might not notice a difference. Though it is not a safety hazard yet, the new rubber pellets will allow for smoother games and fewer injuries.

McLean will not be using any of its own funds to cover the price. Since the turf field was initially installed, the McLean Athletics Boosters, whose sole purpose is to support McLean sports, has saved over $150,000 to pay for the new turf.

“The athletic boosters club has been paying $15,000 a year to Fairfax County, [who] kind of hold it in an account. Then when it’s time to replace the turf field, they use that money to pay for it,” Miller said.

Although the turf field may not be considered a high priority to some of the McLean community, Miller explained that McLean signed a replacement contract when they first got the field.

“I can definitely understand the optics of it with everything going on in the world right now, why are we getting a brand new turf field, but this has been money that’s been saved now for nine years that the school is required to come up with to pay for replacement. It just happens to be...that right now is our time to get it replaced.”