Eric Gessell is one of the top goalies in all of Howard County. Whenever the season starts, he’ll be ready to defend the net.
By: Gabe Kamins, Co-Editor-in-Chief
They dreamt of state championships, accolades, and leading their team to thrilling victories. At the very least, they were excited to get back on the field, court, or track with their teammates and coaches, representing River Hill and playing the sports they love in front of their friends and family. Instead, they were restricted to weekly virtual practices and small – if any – gatherings. There would be no sports this fall for the Hawks. But that didn’t stop them from staying busy and ensuring that whenever Howard County gave them the thumbs up to go back to play, they’d be ready.
Fresh off a season in which he was named second-team all-county and helped lead the football team to a county championship, senior Gurdeep Barring had high aspirations for the 2020-2021 season. “I wanted to earn first team-all county and potentially even all-metro, as well as bring a state championship back to River Hill,” he explained. But Gurdeep quickly realized that all of these goals would have to be put on hold, as Howard County continued to push back fall sports. Not being able to play sports wasn’t easy for many, including Gurdeep, who stated that “many people use sports as a way to relieve stress and learn important life-lessons” and that “by taking away [sports], many students are struggling mentally.” Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to play actual football for a while, Gurdeep decided to translate that itch for competition into his training. “I consistently worked out at my house and sometimes with my teammates in order to be ready for whenever they tell us we can play,” he explained. He added that he “has also been going over basic plays and concepts in order to be ready for football mentally” and hopefully give him an edge over opponents. While Gurdeep believes that Howard County could be playing during the pandemic if they took the right precautions, he understands the risks associated with it. But because he decided to stay as active and prepared as possible, Gurdeep is confident that he’ll be ready to go when the Hawks return to the gridiron.
Gurdeep’s sister, Karmjit Barring, was also excelling in her fall sport – field hockey. Karmjit, also a senior, helped guide the Hawks to a state semifinal appearance last season, and her goal heading into this year was simple: “I was hoping to win a state championship and redeem ourselves from last year,” she explained. Once the pandemic hit, Karmjit was worried that she might have played her final game of field hockey, but is “still hoping that [she] will be able to walk on the field one last time with [her] teammates.” In the meantime, Karmjit and her brother have been training in the gym that they built in their basement. She has also “been going on runs around the neighborhood” and participating in club lacrosse to stay busy. While the future may be “unknown” to Karmjit and so many others, she is doing all she can to prepare for what she hopes is a memorable season.
After a dominant regular season in the 2019-2020 season, senior goalie Eric Gessell and the boys soccer team were upset in the playoffs, leaving them with a bitter taste in their mouths. Unsurprisingly, Eric’s number one goal for this season was to “win the state championship” and avenge their defeat from the previous season. While the pandemic may have shut down high school sports, Eric and his teammates have been busy playing club soccer and “going to the school to practice a few days a week” informally without coaches. Eric admits that it’s been “hard not knowing if we are having a season or not,” but the fact that he and his teammates have still been practicing gives him confidence that they’ll be ready to go whenever they’re able to play for the school.
While student-athletes at River Hill may not know what the future holds, they still used the fall season to prepare themselves. Although virtual practices, masked conditioning sessions, and constant postponements were not what anyone had hoped for, River Hill’s fall athletes made the most of the circumstances and set themselves up for success, whenever their seasons may be.