The Story
Spring sports are starting up. Here’s what you need to know.
When?
All tryouts for all spring sports start today, just in time for the schedule switch. Crew is the only team that actually has a written out schedule right now, so we don’t know when or where all the other sports will be holding tryouts. But if you filled out the spring sports sign up form like you were supposed to, all that information should be coming to you via email.
Any Restrictions?
Of course. Each sport has their own special set of guidelines from the NHIAA. Bedford has been sticking to these guidelines throughout the school year, so we’re assuming they’ll keep following them for the spring season. Every sport has the same basic and expected guidelines, like having hand sanitizer and wipes available, disinfecting surfaces, and mask wearing, and each sport also has more guidelines of its own. There will also be no more shaking hands at the end of games. Goodbye, sportsmanship.
Baseball
In the world of baseball, players and coaches are not allowed to chew gum or seeds, and they’re not allowed to spit. Players are not allowed to leave the dugout to congratulate teammates after a homerun. Does that mean no more dumping gatorade on each other? And pitchers have to carry hand sanitizer with them, just in case they accidentally spit on the ball. Despite the fact that they’re not allowed to spit.
Softball
Softball players are no longer allowed to wear plastic face coverings attached to their helmets, because apparently that puts them at more risk for injury. Pitchers are not allowed to wear optic yellow face coverings and the NHIAA is okay with teams not having matching hats. We guess uniforms are the least of everyone’s worries right now.
Boys Lacrosse
The benches for boys lacrosse must be clearly marked so that players know exactly where they’re supposed to sit, 6 feet apart of course. Players will have to leave their equipment on the field for the refs to check instead of lining up for stick check like normal. And the guidelines very specifically state that there will be no dog piles this year. Apparently, dog piling on the field is common enough in boys lacrosse that the NHIAA has to prohibit it.
Girls Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse players will also have to leave their sticks along the sideline for the gloved referees to come check. Captains will not be allowed to attend pregrame meetings, and pregame handshakes will not occur. And the same rule regarding dog piles also applies for the girls.
Outdoor Track
Athletes are supposed to wear masks for track, but they’re allowed to pull them down for certain events to prevent injury. Competitors will race with one lane in between them if possible and if not possible, they’ll do staggered starts. And one poor unfortunate soul from each team has to be responsible for managing their team’s hurdles for the entire meet.
Tennis
Nothing particularly unexpected is required during tennis matches. Like the rest of the sports, there will be no handshakes. Instead, the NHIAA suggests that athletes stand on their serviceline and raise their rackets to acknowledge their opponent. We’re starting to wonder how far people will go to replicate a handshake without actually shaking hands.
The Runaway
We might all be getting vaccinated soon, but we’re still in a pandemic, so bring on those restrictions.
What to Say…
When the students form a mutiny…
Last Wednesday, BHS senior Andrew Raust started a petition to Mr. Jozokos and the administration. The petition called for keeping the Wednesday schedule the same to help relieve some stress for students. In the new schedule starting today, the high school goes back to an alternating Red-Silver day schedule, eliminating Wednesdays as a catch up day. The petition quickly circulated through the student body, gaining a whopping 800 signatures in 3 days (that’s more than half the entire student population). Several students commented on the petition about why they signed, sharing that Wednesdays help them with stress from heavy workloads. One person also mentioned that Wednesdays help the overall mental well-being of students. On Friday, Jozokos sent out an email about the petition, saying that he understands the benefits of having Wednesdays as they used to be, but he’s not gonna change the new schedule to accommodate Wednesdays. He ended his email by saying that transitioning to a more ‘normal’ schedule will be hard but we can all get through it. Nothing like a friendly little “Suck it up, you’re fine” email from the principal to lift spirits about all the drastic changes coming our way.
When you don’t know how the schedule works…
The new schedule seems to be pretty similar to that of a normal school year, buuut there are some significant changes. Normally, there were two advisory blocks during the day, one for juniors and seniors, and the other for sophomores and freshmen. The reason for having two advisory blocks was that there aren’t enough classrooms in the building to have every grade have advisory at once. For the new schedule, sophomores and seniors will have advisory on Red days and freshmen and juniors will have advisory on Silver days. On days you don’t have advisory, you’ll be assigned to a different place to wait for 4th block. Another small change comes with lunches. Per usual, third block is divided into four 25-minute lunch periods, and depending on your class, you’ll go to either the gym or the commons to eat. There will be assigned seating for contact tracing, but you will be allowed to talk – a much better option than eating lunch with your microphone and video off on a Google Meet call.
Things To Know
Turn in those missing assignments…
Quarter 3 ends on Friday.