Spring Sports Canceled by COVID-19

Sophia Zhao '23 Assistant Sports Editor

Before leaving campus for March break, many spring sports teams had just begun training, or had been holding preseason practices for a few weeks, looking forward to a promising season.

However, with the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, the safety and health of the general public was prioritized, which meant the cancellation of all spring sports seasons to ensure that everyone stays safe and practices social distancing to further prevent the spread of the virus. While some teams, such as Track and Field, have tried to continue holding virtual practices through Zoom, coach Michael Christie has said, “I received communication from the Hopkins leadership that effective immediately, the track season will have to end.”

This decision to cancel all spring sports means that the seniors will not be able to experience their last season on The Hill. Although working out and training individually is still an option for some teams, many seniors were looking forward to their last sports season with their teammates. Katherine Takoudes ‘20, a senior on Girls Varsity Lacrosse, explained: “It's tough for a lot of the seniors to have our spring seasons canceled. Just like a lot of other seniors on the team, I've played lacrosse for the past three years and I wish I had a final season and Senior Day with the team.”

Many seniors had a lot to look forward to with their last spring sports season. “Last year was the first year with our new coach, Coach Keogh, so it was a building year for the team. This year, we wanted to enter the season as a stronger and unified team, and build off of Coach Keogh's first year to have a great season,” says Takoudes. Cameron Delcristo, Boys Varsity Lacrosse captain going to play at Tufts next year, says “The sudden end to the season was a difficult pill to swallow for me, as well as the whole lacrosse team. Nobody wanted it to end. We had set some high expectations for the year knowing that we had a good chance of winning the championship. On the bright side I have more time to work towards bettering myself for next year in college. I was looking forward to having a run at the chip as well as team dinners wit the boys and girls.” Thomas Gordon, a senior on Varsity Baseball, says,“Spring semester being cancelled is disappointing but the worst part is definitely not being able to go to Florida one last time and defend our baseball title”

New facilities, including the new track and a new softball field, are also unavailable to spring athletes. Co-captain of Girls Track and Field Mei Han ‘20 explained, “It's quite the bummer for outdoor track since we aren't able to use the new facilities. We had four or so home meets planned, which would have been a lot of fun to host, since Hopkins has never gotten to run its own track events. Personally I was really looking forward to working on the 800 meter and javelin on the new track and field, and maybe even trying a new event... discus?? But oh well. [It is unfortunate] that I had my last and only outdoor track season without even knowing it!

The sudden outbreak has brought many challenges to Hopkins, but safety must be our first priority. Varsity Baseball captain Brandon Smith, who will be matriculating a Sacred Heart University to play baseball, says “Knowing that spring sports have been canceled has been devastating, especially for us seniors entering our final season of high school athletics. It’s easy in times like these to feel angry, sad, and disheartened by the outcome of our athletic careers as a high school student, but under the circumstances, we need to do our part to stay safe and help those in need as much as possible. There's a great world beyond sports, and hopefully the cancelation of athletics is the biggest adversity we are all faced with during this time of crisis”

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Spring Sports Canceled by COVID-19