By Daniel Maiorana
Howard County will be enforcing all spring sport athletes and coaches to keep their masks on during practices and games. Judging by all the COVID-19 outbreaks there were during the fall sports season, Howard County wants to make sure there won’t be any more in the spring. Yes, lacrosse is a contact sport, so the county wants to enforce COVID-19 guidelines to make sure no outbreaks occur. Softball, baseball, and tennis players are all required to wear masks as well, even though there is minimal contact. Tennis players won’t have to wear masks during singles matches, but for doubles matches, coaches around the county still haven’t come to an agreement on it. Luckily, all of these sports take place outside and players are socially distant for most of the practices/games, except for lacrosse. The county is trying to limit the risk of the virus spreading, so the spring athletes can have an uninterrupted season that will last until June.
Baseball is a somewhat socially distanced sport, as defenders are spaced out on the field, but the batter, umpire, and catcher are most definitely not socially distanced. The proposed plan for baseball is that masks will have to be worn during practices and when players are off the field during games. As an athlete myself, exercising during intense game situations causes lots of adrenaline to rush through the body, and the mask somewhat handicaps your ability to breath and stay calm during high pressure situations. Junior Ryan Mcclellan adds on to the topic, saying “masks definitely handicap your skills when playing, just simply by making it harder to breathe.” Mcclellan is a catcher for the Hawks, a position that isn’t socially distanced from other players such as the batter, but he will have to deal with wearing a mask during practice. During games, players will have to keep their masks on in the dugout, as a large team like baseball can have up to 20 players on a team, meaning it can get pretty crammed in the dugouts. Players will have to respect the county guidelines, as they know there won’t be any room for makeup games during the shortened season.
Just like baseball, softball players will have to follow the same mask guidelines as the baseball players. Although the players must keep their masks on during practices and in games when not on the field, they can look forward to not wearing masks when playing in games. The good thing about softball and baseball is that there isn’t too much intense cardio during the games, besides when the players are hustling for fly balls and running to get that infield hit. Sophomore Kathleen Maiorana feels that when the team is outside in general, wearing a mask shouldn’t be necessary. During the high intensity situations, it does get hard to breathe with a mask on, and that is something players luckily won’t have to deal with during games. “Wearing a mask during practice when the team is doing conditioning drills will definitely handicap my abilities as an athlete.” This player can probably speak for the rest of the spring athletes, as it gets tough to run in the blazing heat while wearing pants. All players should be focused on for the season COVID-19 wise is to wear their masks when necessary, just so they can feel comfortable that a full season is ahead of them.
Lacrosse and tennis are almost polar opposites when it comes to socially distancing, but yet similar mask rules are being implemented. Lacrosse is the one spring sport that requires constant contact between players, similar to football, which saw many COVID-19 breakouts this past season. Players will be enforced to wear their masks everywhere but on the field, just like the other sports. Taking the masks off for games is necessary, as players are consistently running on the field and exerting lots of energy, which causes them to breathe heavily. If masks were enforced in games, players would have a hard time staying at a fast pace on the field, which would lower their skill level and make them a completely different player.
Tennis was the sport praised by health organizations over the pandemic, as players are constantly keeping distance on other ends of the court. Masks will have to be worn during practices, as players will be on the same courts as their groups running drills, not socially distant. Howard County isn’t enforcing players to wear masks for either singles or doubles, as players will be socially distancing from each other for almost the whole match. Tennis is also another sport that will get your heartrate up, and wearing a mask will definitely handicap players during practices when running. Athletes should be pleased that they will still be able to participate in state championships and a 12 match regular season, so keeping that mask on as much as possible will limit chances of a shortened season.
With tryouts starting last weekend, the late start to the spring season, which usually kicks off March 1st, is finally underway. Athletes are ready to stay safe and have fun at the same time, making sure their season won’t be interrupted. Spring athletes will have some motivation to play, as regionals and states will be played for a good end to the season. If all goes to plan, this will be the longest sports season this year, and players will have to stay safe and wear a mask in order for it to happen.