School has gone through many changes this past year, whether that means a lack of clubs or hybrid learning in schools. North Harford High School is also undergoing many changes as it goes into hybrid learning, so this spring sports season will additionally have to adapt to these new changes as well while making new adjustments as well. 

    Social distancing has become a vital part of everyday life, causing dividers between the desks at school, many students choosing online learning as an alternative, wearing masks every day to prevent the spread of COVID-19 along with many more adjustments. However, teachers along with many students are still able to prevail through these differences and create an environment in which students can learn online and in person through hybrid learning.

    Sports are also attempting to persevere through these changes, giving kids the ability to continue the activities they enjoy, even through a difficult time where people cannot be near each other in most circumstances, improving mental health tremendously. Choosing to continue certain sports is a very positive light within the hard times a lot of people are having, showing school sports’ improvement from when Cross Country had an online season in the Fall.

    Sports are trying to social distance in any way possible, such as using tickets as a way to have less people in the stands or maybe not even having people in the audience at all. One of these sports is tennis in which there are certain changes being made to fit the situation, both helping students stop the spread of this pandemic throughout the team while also possibly hurting their abilities to play the sport.

    Jonathon Roth, a first-time North Harford High School tennis player and Junior, has experience in the sport but lacks the high school sport experience, so while he cannot say what tennis was like before the pandemic, he sees the obvious changes going on around him. “There’s zip ties on the fence that keeps us six feet apart and we have to keep our masks on unless we’re doing intense activities,” Roth commented.

    Roth also says that other than that it is not that different from how tennis would be usually besides “the forms we have to do before we enter the court consisting of many COVID questions” along with agreeing that they are okay with the fact that they might be at a risk for catching the corona virus. This form is a standard procedure for anything, but it is mostly relevant because of the lack of masks during very strenuous exercise.

    Sports are very different this school year, but having these spring sports in the first place is a positive change that could start to lead us back to how life was pre-pandemic with less fear and more socializing with this only being the first step!