After a long year of no on-site school activities, athletics are resuming at McClatchy. All sports seasons were suspended indefinitely when schools closed for in-person learning in March 2020. Now one year later, sports are slowly resuming to the excitement of students and coaches alike.
Rob Feickert, CKM’s athletic director, explained that to restart athletics, “There had to be a memorandum of understanding between SCTA and the district. Greg Purcell (district Athletic Director) worked with Victoria Flores from SCUSD health department to draft a plan that met all of the county and state health guidelines. Each athletic Director from Kennedy, West Campus, Johnson, Rosemont, Burbank, and McClatchy drafted a site plan with their principals. District personnel created signs and protocols for bringing athletes back on campus in a safe manner.” A memorandum of understanding (MOU) means that SCTA and the district came to a formal, non-legally binding agreement about moving forward with athletics. The MOU was established March 3rd, allowing McClatchy teams to compete.
Practices have since resumed and have been modified to comply with COVID-19 protocols. “All athletes have to be health screened and have their temperatures checked before each practice,” Feickert described. All practices are held outdoors as well.
When asked if certain sports were prioritized to restart, Feickert said, “Yes, Athletic Directors of the Metro League tried to prioritize the sports that could be played in the purple tier first. i.e. golf, tennis, cross country, and swimming. We also tried to move the traditional spring sports to later in the year to give them the best chance to have a season since they lost the last season i.e. baseball, softball, track, boys tennis, boys volleyball, and boys tennis.”
Cross country resumed practice and the team has been able to participate in races. Julie Watkins, the cross country coach, said, “We just had a race on March 5th against Monterey Trail. We have another on March 10th, another on the 13th, and there are 3 more after that, with the last one on March 27th.”
Girls golf started practicing around February 2. Kylee Dalisay (‘22) who has been on the golf team for two years now, commented, “Because of covid, we have to wear our masks throughout the entire practice and even during tournaments. Since we’re a non-contact sport we still do the same things in practice.”
Alyssa Archuleta (‘21) plays on the tennis team and she said, “I’m excited to start the season. It gives this school year some normalcy and I missed tennis. There were a few challenges starting again because the superintendent wouldn’t approve our matches at the start so we couldn’t play other schools. Overall, I’m looking forward to playing with my team again.”
The girls tennis season is set to begin March 8th. Football was approved to start practicing in full pads March 8th as well. Their season is set to begin in late March. Cross country also has a race planned at McClatchy this season.
Girls golf is also partaking in a tournament on March 8. Dalisay said, “I feel excited to start especially since I’ve been home quarantining for so long. It’s nice to get out and see some of my school friends.”
Despite several sports seasons resuming, there will be limited crowds. “At this time we can only play outside sports. We are allowed to have spectators who are family members of athletes who are competing. These protocols could change if COVID-19 cases continue to decline. Indoor sports will not be moved outside,” said Feickert. Sports like volleyball and basketball that rely on indoor courts can’t resume their season until they are cleared to play indoors.
Feickert said that one of the biggest challenges in restarting athletics was, “Messaging students. Ms. Egan has been great about adding sports information to Sunday Night Roar, but I feel many students and parents do not read their emails.” Keeping students and parents informed is vital as new protocols and updates on school functions are constantly coming out.
Watkins added, “I’m just glad the athletes are getting a chance to race this season. I hope that they stay healthy, have fun, get to be part of a team, and become stronger runners. This has been an extremely challenging fall, both with teaching and coaching. It has really made me appreciate all the things we were able to do before the pandemic hit!”