By Grace Carella ’21
At Beverly High, the Panthers operate twenty eight different varsity teams. With Covid 19 canceling many professional and pre-professional seasons, the future for High School Athletics remains in a state of uncertainty. As the country moves forward and continues to reopen, government leaders are focusing on implementing new rules and regulations to ensure the safety of citizens. At Beverly High, the academic staff and faculty, as well as the athletics managers and directors are working tirelessly to ensure that everything is ready to resume as soon as Governor Baker gives the word of approval. BHS’s athletic director, Mr. [Daniel] Keefe sat down with me to answer some questions I had regarding the outlook of the fall athletic seasons as BHS, as well as how the MIAA and NEC directors and staff have been collaborating and managing these event changing and unpredictable times.
Although the situation is continuously changing by the day, school and athletic leaders have remained proactive, to ensure that every possible situation has a plan of action. NEC directors have been meeting weekly to discuss possible scenarios and actions that may be taken. The MIAA has categorized sports by risk of transmission.
High risks sports include
-Football
-Wrestling
-Cheerleading
Moderate risk sports include
-Soccer
-Feldhockey
Low risk sports include
-Cross country
-Golf
The MIAA has always planned athletic schedules one year in advance, and as of right now, the scheduled starts for sports seasons remain at their originally intended start. This means on August 21, football will start, and August 24 will mark the start of all other fall sports seasons. However, it was with the possibility of delayed starts, seasons may be shortened, but not cut out completely. With the many questions still unanswered, sports directors and coaches remain in the dark, and athletes continue to remain hopeful. Modern day problems require modern day solutions, and numerous athletic and educational organizations continue to dedicate their time and resources to orchestrating and executing plans in efforts to allow students and athletes to continue their careers.
When asked what advice he had for student athletes, Mr. Keefe said “Do something positive mentally and physically everyday, plan on the season starting, and be prepared to show up on the first day in shape. Yeah, timing may be off in team sports, but there are excuses to show up on the first day out of shape at the high school level, if you are in shape, you will be successful.”
As more information becomes available, additional articles will be released, as well as an assortment of student athlete submitted thoughts and opinions.
