Is it Wise to Let Sports Start Practicing?

By Jacob Kim

Rowland High School

In-person schooling was dismissed since March of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were unable to participate in any activities like volunteering, sports, etc. Then around August of 2020, schools were cleared to open up as long as students followed the safety protocols put in place. For a while, it was hard for athletes to imagine playing this school year. However as the school year went on, the COVID-19 cases had decreased slightly to the point that sports practices had started to be allowed in some states. There are those who believe that it’s not a good idea to let high school sports start practicing, and there are those who believe that it is okay. I believe that high school sports should start and that they shouldn’t at the same time because it depends on the athlete’s purpose for playing.

For the people who believe that high school sports shouldn’t start, the first reasoning that comes to mind is danger. There are many sports that could endanger the athletes because some don’t follow the safety precautions. They think it’s too risky and too physical for some sports to start as of right now. Then, for those who believe that it’s safe for high school sports to begin practicing during the pandemic, their reasoning may be made up of the fact that they want to play to look good for college and boredom.

Sean Son, a 10th grader from Troy High School, he says, “ I think that high school sports starting back up is fine because from what I experience as a water polo player for school is that they have a very well built system for determining whether a student has COVID-19 or has shown symptoms.” As long as schools have the best way to follow COVID-19 preventative safety procedures, then it’s fine for sports to continue. Also, another student, Chris Choi, an 11th grader from Orange Lutheran High School, states,”I think it can be very dangerous to start because even now without sports the numbers of coronavirus is increasing. However, for some people who want to go to college with their sport, I think it is important to start.” Chris basically stated one of the reasons why athletes want high school sports to continue during COVID-19. Based on what Sean and Chris said, I also agree with what they said.

High school sports starting again during COVID is a good and bad thing. There are always going to be those parents who want to protect their kids because of how much of a risk there is just to play sports during these hard times. If you were given the opportunity to play and you are a high ranked athlete, would you take it?