4 sport athletes?
October 26, 2020
During this global pandemic, schools have been affected majorly. One aspect of school that made the most change is sports. The MSHSL decided that volleyball and football were to be pushed back till early spring. And both girls and boys soccer and girls tennis were still on in the fall. This gave three-sport athletes a chance to try something new: to become a four-sport athlete.
Many students have chosen to be part of a new sport during the fall. Isaiah Miller, a senior, participated in soccer this fall, while later participating in football, basketball, and baseball. The main reason Miller did a new fall sport is to stay in shape. However, he was happy with his new experience with his new team. “I enjoyed playing a new sport. . . I made new friends and it was something that I’ve always wanted to do.” Miller made a varsity spot on the team, playing the position of defense. “It’s a lot harder than you think, and I have a lot more respect for soccer players.”
His new experience of playing boys soccer changed when the MSHSL brought back football. “At first I was nervous about it, but after talking to my coaches and having a flexible schedule it’ll be nice. But I’m just really busy.” He was planning on doing both football and soccer at the same time but things got too stressful so he made the choice of just doing football.
Another student that is going to be playing four sports this year is junior Maddi O’Connor. She played tennis and later will be playing volleyball, hockey, and softball. The main reason O’Connor participated in tennis is to stay busy. However, tennis was not totally unfamiliar for her. “I used to play tennis with my family so it wasn’t completely new to me. . . I understood the basics of it,” she said. When the MSHSL announced that they were bringing back volleyball O’Connor was excited. “ I was very excited, but I didn’t know if I could finish off my tennis season or leave and play volleyball.” O’Connor was among many of her volleyball teammates who tried tennis. But when volleyball was back many of them quit to start their volleyball season right away. However, O’Connor stayed with tennis until the season ended and she played in sections. “One [thing I took away from being in tennis] would be that I should start trying new things because I found out I really like tennis and its a very fun sport. . .”
Many students at the high school took advantage of their main fall sports being pushed back to try something new. And many of them had a very positive experience and inspired them and others to try new things more often.