By Arden Carlyle, Staff Writer
While wearing masks while playing sports has become mandatory for all indoor practices and sporting events due to the rise of positive COVID-19 cases in Dare County, sports are back at First Flight.
Every sport, along with every player, has been affected by this pandemic. Benicio Garcia, a senior soccer player, is no exception. Garcia, along with several of his teammates, had to quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure. Despite the circumstances, he has witnessed a rise of fan base following the pandemic.
“It’s definitely changed the fan base for sure, just with the regulations,” Garcia said. “We had less fans, but with stuff getting better, people are coming out to support. We are getting back to where we once were.”
Even though the amount of fans are increasing, the indoor mask mandate is still an obvious physical effect from the pandemic.
Stella Bryson, a junior on the varsity volleyball team, has tried to keep her teammates optimistic about the mandate, even though it’s proven to be difficult at times.
“I am just trying to remain positive and wear masks and encourage people and tell them that it’s not that bad.” Bryson said.
Superior individual performance is something that all athletes strive to have, but during the pandemic, many athletes were forced to skip seasons and fall behind on practice and workouts.
Grace Woerner, a senior tennis player, feels like her individual performance is not affected by COVID-19.
“With tennis, COVID caused me to skip a season but my physical ability is still up to my standards,” Woerner said.
Similarly, Garcia feels like his individual performance has also improved during this crisis.
“I think it has affected me and that’s for the better,” Garcia said. “I’ve had more time to focus on sports because I will touch a ball more than I did.”
Having to quarantine and miss games are factors that can play a big role in a sport’s team chemistry.
“Our team chemistry on the volleyball team has been affected by COVID because it’s hard to go from not playing together for a while to going back to playing as a team,” Bryson said.
Through it all, it’s proven that through adversity comes strength. While keeping a positive attitude during such difficult times is not always the easiest thing to do, First Flight athletes are not letting the pandemic get in their way.
“To remain positive, I just keep an open mind knowing that everyone is taking the pandemic differently. So, we don’t let the pandemic blues get to us,” Woerner said. “We keep pushing and hop back on the court with all smiles.”
Senior Arden Carlyle can be reached at 22carlylear66@daretolearn.org
