Some Sports Are Allowed to Play During The Pandemic

 By Caroline Surrette 

Playing, watching, and coaching high school soccer this season comes with risks and new rules, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Woburn Memorial High School girls’ varsity soccer team’s 2020 season might be postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic and teams in the Middlesex League cancelled sports this fall season.  

Last week the team celebrated the senior players on their senior day. 

Senior captain of the WMHS team, Bridget Guiendon, said she wants to make the best of the season while she can.  

“The seniors have been playing soccer their whole lives and now they don’t get the season they truly deserve. It’s devastating for the players and their families watching them, “ coach of WMHS team, Trinity Fuller said.

Guiendon said the season kept getting delayed. She said not being able to practice as a team was frustrating.

Assistant coach and former collegiate player, Megan Crowith, said the preseason, which was cancelled, is important, because the players get to know one another.

“If they don’t get along off the field, it makes it that much harder for them to get along on the field,” Fuller agreed.    

Guiendon said despite not having a preseason they are making their team dynamic work.

Sophomore forward, Anna Casey, said her teammates are excited to start playing again.

Players must wear masks and social distance during practices and games.  The Massachusetts Interscholastic Association of Athletics Covid-19 Task force had to change rules for the 2020 soccer season to start.

The MIAA board voted to delay the start of the fall season until September 14. 

“Everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to play,” Casey said.

Guiendon and Casey said it is difficult running with a mask on.

“Wearing the mask was tough for them at first but we’re trying to make the best of it. I think we are doing a good job with it so far,” Fuller said.

Guiendon said coaches and spectators must wear masks and the athletic directors and coaches are responsible for holding their fans and players accountable.

Coaches must ensure social distancing is maintained between players constantly, according to the MIAA rule book. Casey said prior to contact at games and practices, all players must complete a survey and take their temperatures.

Guiendon said the teams are only allowed to practice together three times a week. She said they practice Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

“On Mondays we do conditioning drills. Thursdays we always scrimmage. Fridays we prepare for our games because our games are always on Saturdays,” Guiendon said.

“Drawing up drills can be difficult, there’s more factors that I have to consider because we are playing during a pandemic, but the girls do a good job following the rules that were put in place,” Fuller said.   

Guiendon said the referees and coaches in the league do a good job of enforcing the rules during games. 

“I think everyone wants to play so everyone’s following the rules. We all want to get through the season,” said Guiendon.    

Guiendon said one team in their league does not follow the rules.

Casey said there is a reason the rules were put in place and it’s frustrating to see other teams breaking them.

“I would hate to see their season get taken away from them because some people can’t follow the rules,” Crowith agreed.

The Boston Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released a statement that said, “If we can do sports, we'd certainly like to, but only if we feel like it can be done in a safe way. We may have to modify sports."

Casey said one new rule is if a player intentionally heads the ball it is a foul.

The MIAA modified the rules for the 2020-2021 soccer season. 

“There’s a foul called ‘the Covid foul,’ they call it when we get too close to a player on the opposing team,” Guiendon said.

Fuller said the goalie’s punts and goal kicks are not allowed to go past the half and corner kicks are now indirect kicks.

“It changes the dynamic of the game, it forces us to do a lot quicker and shorter on the ground passes,” Fuller said.  

Guiendon said they are no longer allowed to throw the ball in for throw ins, they must kick it in on the ground.

“We have to wait for the refs to blow the whistle to let us throw the ball in, before we could just grab the ball and throw it in. The game is more paced now,” Guiendon said.

Fuller said they also took away timeouts, which makes subbing and managing the game difficult.

“When I see the girls start to get sloppy and tired it’s hard to get them to regroup and start playing like a team again without a timeout. I have to make my message more direct between the quarters,” Fuller said.

The MIAA rule book states that there will be no timeouts allowed and the games will be played in four quarters with a half time after two quarters.

Guiendon said the quarters give players a mask break. She said between quarters they get two minutes to rest and ten minutes at the half.

“The refs are very strict about us keeping our masks on at all times, they threaten to throw us out of the game if your mask slips under our nose,” Casey said.

Fuller said the state is trying to keep everyone safe which includes the coaches, players, spectators, and refs.  

Guiendon said each player on her team was given one lanyard to give to a person of their choice. She said to watch the game spectators must wear the lanyard and those who don’t have one must watch form their cars or stand outside a fence far from the field.

Crowith said the league cancelled one of their games because Woburn had too many cases of Covid in the city.

“Our school didn’t have any cases at the time, our city had too many, so Reading said they didn’t want to play us,” Casey said.    

Guiendon said Woburn’s athletic director reached out and asked Reading if the players could play without spectators. She said the Reading athletic director said no because Woburn was a red zone.  

“It’s frustrating that we won’t get to make any of the games up that get cancelled, but it’s understandable. We will just have to capitalize in the games we do play,” Fuller said. 

Since the school year started there were 129 cases of Covid among students in Massachusetts, reported the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Two of those cases were Woburn students, according to the DESE.      

The most players allowed on a varsity high school team in Massachusetts is 30, making it possible for athletes to encounter 120 other players in the Middlesex League according to Mass Soccer.  

Guiendon said no players in their league has had Covid-19.

Fuller said there are a lot of people in their county and they are trying their best to keep everyone healthy and give the athletes a good season.

“Our priority is to keep the players safe. I hope we can get through the season and give our seniors a senior day they will remember and enjoy,” Crowith said.

 

 

 A post game interview with senior captain Bridget Guiendon. 

Sources

Cohan, Alexi. “202 New Cases of Coronavirus Reported in Massachusetts Schools.” Boston Herald, Boston Herald, 22 Oct. 2020, www.bostonherald.com/2020/10/22/202-new-cases-of-coronavirus-reported-in-massachusetts-schools/.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Positive COVID-19 Cases in Schools.” Coronavirus/COVID-19: Positive COVID-19 Cases in Schools, 2020, www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/positive-cases/.

MIAA. “Rule Modifications and Guidelines.” Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , 2020, www.miaa.net/gen/miaa_generated_bin/documents/basic_module/SoccerModificationsFall2020.pdf.

Reports, Staff. “MIAA Votes to Delay Start of Fall Sports Season to Sept. 14.” NBC Boston, NBC10 Boston, 21 July 2020, www.nbcboston.com/news/coronavirus/miaa-considers-coronavirus-guidelines-for-school-sports/2163022/.  

“Rules and Overview.” Massachusetts Adult Soccer, www.mass-soccer.org/page/show/3238552-rules-and-overview.