OSAA’s spring season purgatory

COVID-19 has put sport seasons across the country on hold from grade schools, all the way to the professional level.

The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) hasn’t made a definite decision on the future of the 2020 sports season. OSAA has an upcoming meeting on April 15 to discuss the feasibility of having a spring season.

Former high school coach Jordon Coffin has even started a petition asking OSAA to move the season into the summer.

While we wait, here are what some athletes are doing to stay in shape, and get ready for a possible spring season.

A sophomore captain on Catlin Gabel School’s baseball team, Mike Hart is waiting in uncertainty. This, however, hasn’t slowed him down too much. Though his regular 3:45-5:45 p.m. practices have been canceled, he is still self-motivated, holding himself to a new adapted training regime.

Hart commented on his new training regime, saying, “I am running mainly… also throwing against a wall when I can… I am also trying to hit some off of the tee.”

He also commented on what keeps him motivated during the hiatus. “I am just hoping that we will have a season to play in, and if not, that the work I am putting in now can benefit the cross country team come next fall,” he said.

Lola Diaz Gonzales is a sophomore captain on the Catlin Gabel girls tennis team.

Compared to other athletes, Diaz Gonzales isn’t as affected by the pandemic. Diaz Gonzales mostly practices one-on-one with her dad, but also does drop in to a good number of team practices.

“I advance more outside of the team with my dad, who coaches me every day… When I practice with my dad, I play for two to three hours a day, and then do physical conditioning,” she said.

She plans to continue training with her father during the hiatus, citing her main motivation as “hoping for that state title this year and bringing it home for Catlin.”

Alvin Lai is a senior for the Westside Christian Eagles who specializes in jumps and sprints.

Like everyone else, Lai regular team practices have been cancelled. However, he continues to train, citing his main motivation as “my final chance to compete in the sport that I love. I don’t know if there will be meets or not this year, but if there are meets I want to be the most prepared I can be.”

Something else that stuck with him was when a Division I athlete named Spencer Brown, whose senior season had also just been canceled (due to COVID-19), told him that athletes can’t control what goes on in the world around them, and to just focus on what they can control, their training.

While we wait for OSAA’s final decision, student athletes are doing their best to stay in shape for even just a morsel of spring sport action. You can find updates to this situation and more on their website.