12 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2021-22
ATHLETICS RETURN TO CSW
Photo Credit: Tetsuya Tanaka ’24
On Friday, February 28, 2020, CSW’s Boys Varsity Basketball traveled to the Marie Philip School for the Deaf in Framingham for the MBIL D-II championship. After a hard-fought game, the Gryphons came home triumphant, winning the championship game 48-46. This would be the last time a CSW interscholastic team would compete in a league game until September 10, 2021, when Boys Varsity Soccer had their home opener against the same school, over a year and half later. In the midst of the pandemic, schools everywhere grappled with how best to handle interscholastic athletics, and with the knowledge available at the time, CSW’s athletic leagues made the difficult decision to cancel games for the duration of the 2020-21 school year. Still, CSW did its best to continue to provide opportunities for students to stay active. When school was remote, the Athletics Department offered various fitness classes — pre-recorded and live — over Zoom. And once school was back in session, students were able to participate in team sports but with a focus on “skills and drills,” and very strict limits on physical contact. “It was really challenging because we had components of practice that had to be virtual,” says Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach Bobby Savino. “So our time together became more focused on team and
relationship building.” Still, Bobby says he appreciated the opportunity to be able to coach students from all grades and skill levels, instead of just the varsity team as he normally would. Rachel Amster ’22, who plays on CSW’s varsity volleyball and basketball teams, says she missed the excitement of having real games during the pandemic. “Even though we had skills and drills, there was little motivation to play because we couldn’t have games or go up against other teams.” While she was grateful for the opportunity to be active and spend time with her teammates, she says the experience just wasn’t the same. Flash forward to this fall and winter, and students are thrilled to be competing against other schools again. While indoor sports such as volleyball and basketball do require that students wear face masks, student-athletes have been able to compete without pandemic modifications or restrictions. For those students who played outdoor sports in the fall, practices and games were some of the only times during the school day that they were able to go without a mask, serving as a much-appreciated reprieve.
