SLHS Sports Rise Above COVID-19

Standley Lake High School’s Softball and Volleyball teams make a comeback after difficult seasons throughout COVID-19.

After COVID-19’s impact on the past year and a half, sports have been essential to the revival of school spirit at Standley Lake High School. Fall sports, including Softball and Volleyball, are adapting to a post-COVID-19 world and finding success in doing so.

The Varsity Softball team is off to a strong start and could potentially lead to a record-breaking season, even after last year’s setbacks.

“I think since last year wasn’t our best year, the girls were more motivated to be more successful this year. That really shows in the games we’ve won,” says Bailey Hoerning, the assistant Softball coach.

As a way of coming back from the disappointment of a shortened season, the Varsity Softball team made a list of both personal and team goals to improve all aspects of their game.

“My goals are to play harder and just try and get as much practice in as I can, because last year Covid just took that away,” says Marrisa Reza, ‘22, a senior on the Softball team.

Marissa’s hard work seems to be paying off not only for herself but for her team. The Varsity Softball team currently holds a record of 15 wins and 4 losses, a tremendous improvement from last year's season.

“We have a goal to win more games than we did last year and in 2019. We have already achieved that this season. We have 14 wins and we just had to beat 12 wins,” says Hoerning.

Although Covid proved to be strenuous during the softball season last year, it served as motivation for the Softball team. They continue to work hard as they finish up the season.

The Standley Lake Volleyball teams are also excelling during their comeback year. The Varsity team has been proving that COVID-19 will no longer stand in the way of their sport, with six wins already.

Volleyball coach Jessica Post expressed some of the challenges that the volleyball team had to face during the 2020-2021 school year.

“The protocols and guidelines were constantly changing and our games would often get cancelled or rescheduled,” she says.

In addition to scheduling issues, it was difficult for athletes to compete at their full potential due to the apprehension of getting sick and the impact that would have amongst the team.

“It creates a lot of anxiety if you are worried that you might have the virus and force your team to quarantine,” says Post.

Communication is a vital aspect of team sports and masks hinder the ability to communicate during a game. This can make it difficult to be successful.

Post expressed her feelings about this, saying “I also know exercising in masks is difficult and they make it harder to communicate with your teammates on the court.”

On top of losing access to communication with teammates, players had a limited number of fans who could attend their games.

“It was heartbreaking to have to tell players that they can only have two guests and it forced players to make some tough choices about who they put on the guest list,” Post said.

The release of guest limits for games has been a sigh of relief for many athletes. However, Post acknowledges that the adjustment to a season with less restrictions hasn’t been seamless for all players and coaches.

“Getting back in shape and balancing school, work, and volleyball has been a rough adjustment for many players and coaches,” she says.

Although many adjustments have been made to have a regular season, the Varsity Volleyball team has powered through and has already won as many games this season as they did last season.

The impact of COVID-19 on Standley Lake sports is unforgettable. Athletes were faced with adversity in all aspects of their sports. They were mandated to wear masks during games and their seasons were cut short, but athletes at Standley Lake High School pulled through. Both the Varsity Softball team and the Varsity Volleyball team are using that adversity to their advantage with both teams on their way to record-breaking seasons. The resilience shown by student-athletes at Standley Lake High school during a time of such uncertainty is remarkable.

| Marin Hackney | Pate Hail | Stella Abernethy | Katherine Warnaka | Rianna Hyland |