This school year North Augusta has seen the many challenges the pandemic has brought, especially to high school athletes. This past fall, the community saw how football has faced the challenges of the pandemic; and this early spring, the community saw how basketball has worked around these new difficulties. Now, with more spring sports coming to North Augusta High School, many questions arise as to how they will be handled. Varsity Girls Soccer coach, Mr. Ed Owens, answered these questions pertaining to soccer season.
Starting with tryouts, Coach Owens had to make accommodations to try and ensure everyone’s safety while making sure to build a suitable roster for this upcoming season. This year there were difficulties with players being quarantined during tryouts. He states,” Interested players who were quarantined the week of tryouts were treated the same as players who were still participating in a winter sport—once they had completed their quarantine, they were invited to come out and practice with the team and a decision made after observing / evaluating for 2-3 days.” Now that practice has started, precautions like social distancing and mask-wearing are enforced for the security of the team. Soccer is a sport that involves lots of interaction with teammates. On this matter, Coach Owens says, “The biggest thing is going to be making sure players are socially distanced whenever possible (team huddles or on the bench) and wearing masks when social distancing isn’t possible. Additionally, busses will be limited to allow social distancing, temperature checks will be done before practices and games, and coaches will wear masks anytime they are interacting with players.”
Practice for the girls' soccer team of 2021.
Pictured here: Various members of the varsity girls' soccer team.
Photo Credit: Emma Carter
A huge thing with any sport is participation, but this can be hindered due to the pandemic. There must be eleven girls on the field to play, but quarantine may interfere with this. Coach Owens is prepared for this, stating, “Games and practices will go on as long as we have enough to field a team. If we should have enough players out to be unable to field a team, region games will be rescheduled as needed with non-region games being rescheduled if possible.” A coach’s priority is the safety of his players, Coach Owens says, “We will definitely work closely with the other coaches to make determinations on a game by game basis.”
Not only is the safety of the team a concern, but so is the safety of people in the stands. Throughout the sports seasons this year, limited seating and mask-wearing have become the new normal. But does this change due to the game being outdoors? When asked about this issue, Coach Owens says, “We are still working on the specifics of home game attendance, but I am sure there will be limitations / restrictions in place.”
This upcoming season will definitely bring challenges, but the community is anxious and excited to see how the girls’ soccer team does this year!
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