We need our space
With many of SM’s sports being postponed to spring and moved outside for safety, limited field and court space becomes an issue for many teams.
McMahon poses at a cheer competition before the pandemic
As students have been told countless times, “these are unprecedented times.” The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unrest in many areas of daily life, including high school sports. Throughout the last few months, the ever-changing situation has made it difficult for athletic directors, such as those at CIF and Santa Margarita, to form a safe and effective plan. On July 20th of this year, SM released CIF’s well thought out plan detailing the seasons of this year’s sports teams, but some issues have arisen now that the plan (and the teams) are in practice.
According to freshman Shawna McMahon, a JV Cheerleader, there are a few issues with the plan in place. The teams usually practice at OC Allstars cheer gym; however, the gym is currently closed to large groups and outside organizations such as SM. Because of this, the team must now practice on campus.
“We can’t practice in the gym where we usually do, so they gave us a spot on the track outside,” McMahon said.
As per usual during Fall in California, the weather has skyrocketed
to daily temperatures around 100 degrees. This heat has now caused the cheer girls to move practice space yet again.
“We are now practicing under the lunch shelter. It’s a little odd but at least it’s not as hot. I can’t wait to get back into a gym with AC and spring floors,” said McMahon.
Senior Carter Aase is also nervous about his varsity soccer season. The team usually uses the entire field, but with many other sports needing the space this year, he is skeptical of how this will work.
“this season is gonna be hard with all the seasons for all the sports being squished together… but I hope SM will delegate the field space and outdoor areas as needed so that all the teams can get what they need to preform their best this season,” Aase said.
Both McMahon and Aase hope for successful seasons this year, and are looking forward to when sports return to normal.
SM’s Sports Schedule can be found here.
https://smhsorg.finalsite.com/uploaded/Athletics/PDF/COMBINED-Memo-2020-2021-Southern-Section-Sports-Calendars-July-20-20201.pdf