profiles v Text by RYAN SETO and KATHERINE CHENG
Recruitment Rescheduled CORONAVIRUS CANCELLATIONS HURT PALY ATHLETES’ CHANCES OF RECRUITMENT
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PITCHING PERFECT — Callum Olsen stares down the plate as he delivers a pitch to an opposing batter from Cupertino High School. Photo by Jenna Hickey
HEN DRIVING PAST appointed, these athletes are focused on Palo Alto High School using this time to improve and train for on a typical spring after- future competitions. noon, it is common to see To examine the impact of COVID-19 the athletic facilities filled with action. The on the recruitment of Paly athletes, Verde softball and baseball fields ring with the Magazine dove into two spring sports that cracks of bats, and on the lacrosse field, have been adversely affected: track and athletes run up and down tossing the small field and baseball. rubber ball. Members of the track and field team can be found circling the track, doing Track and field reps on the long jump pit and high jump First, national invitationals and meets mat, or throwing shot put and discus. In were postponed. Then, canceled. Local the pool, cheers and invitationals were splashes from swim- I was really disapcalled off soon after. mers ring out. Still, many Paly track pointed because my But now, the and field athletes refields are ghostly quiet last three years have mained optimistic as and the pool is covevents were struck been building [and] ered. Athletes have not from their calenbeen allowed to use leading up to this.” dars, their positiv— DAVID EVANS, junior ity buoyed by their the facilities for over two months as a result league meets that reof the campus shutdown due to the novel mained scheduled. coronavirus. Eventually, those meets too, along In high schools nationwide, athletes with practices, were canceled. Tracks were have had their spring sports seasons cut fenced off and the shelter-in-place order short, allowing fewer opportunities for forced athletes to find alternative ways to them to showcase their skills to college get their workouts in, running at parks or coaches. Although nearly an entire season nature trails or through city blocks. has been stripped away, leaving many disWhile most athletes can still train, dis-
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Art by SELENA CAO
appointment persists as they reflect on the abrupt ending to their season. “I was really disappointed because my last three years have been building [and] leading up to this and to have that get destroyed is really hard,” junior track and field athlete David Evans said. “I was in really good shape and I was ready to hit the times I had set for myself.” Athletes looking to participate in college track have also had crucial recruiting opportunities stripped away. Unlike other sports such as basketball and football, where coaches fly to big-name tournaments to watch top athletes play, runners need to record remarkable times at meets to get their foot in the door with college scouts. With meets being canceled this year, athletes no longer have the chance to officially hit their target times. Though not ideal, students like Evans must find other ways to demonstrate their growth and showcase their speed. “If hitting the times means doing it unofficially in a time trial, so be it,” Evans said. “But I get to show colleges that I can do it, even if an unofficial time doesn’t have as much pull as an official time.” With track resuming looking more
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