Amador Valley sports have now been given the green light to start preparing for their upcoming seasons. While coaches and athletes alike have been waiting to return, safety protocols must be followed and so sports may look different.

“Sports are allowed to run volunteer camps, not practices, following the Alameda County of Public Health guidelines. Camp members are not allowed to have any contact, and all participants must complete the PUSD Athletic Camp waiver including the home health screening questions before participating,” said Coordinator of Operations Michael Jaramillo. 

While some sports were initially allowed to start summer practices, they had to press pause. Now, these sports are able to set things back in motion once more. 

“During the summer we basically just had normal practices 3 times a week, but now we are taking more precautions, staying within groups of about 12 because it is harder to social distance in water polo,” said water polo player Evan Grell (‘23).

Coaches are working hard to ensure that safety measures are being taken so they can continue with their “camps.” This may alter the way teams typically practice. It is all in the hopes of containing the spread of COVID-19, so sports can return to normal sooner. 

“We practice in ‘bubbles,’ 12 players to 1 coach per bubble. We don’t intermix the bubbles at any time. The football implemented can’t be shared by 2 different bubbles and must be cleaned between reps,” said varsity football coach Danny Jones.

To comply with present conditions, the NCS/CIF has made changes to the seasons of sports. The start dates of all sports have been pushed back, and some sports have been moved entire seasons. 

“We are having our second day of ‘camp’ today. It’s only 10 weeks and super limited but it’s nice to at least be doing something. It sucks that our season is being pushed back but I know it’s for the best and that it’s not safe right now. I hope that at least by March things will be better and we can play then because we miss it,” said varsity basketball player Isabella Mauricio (‘21).

Although sports cannot hold official practices, these volunteer camps have been a way for athletes to get back on track. Some athletes have also been training on their own to ensure that they feel ready once their prolonged seasons begin.

“I have a personal trainer who I work with almost every day and then I lift 3-5x a week on top of practices at Amador now and running. I’m leaving to play in college in June so I’m just trying to do anything possible to stay ready,” said Mauricio.

Teams have been acknowledging the importance of the county’s guidelines because they understand that this is a matter of health and safety, not only of returning to the field. 

“For baseball we just had our first practice this week, we want to continue to have practices by following certain restrictions and rules when we’re on the field. Everyone has to wear a mask when we’re practicing and the teams have had to split into groups so there isn’t a large number of people in one area,” said baseball player Ryan Lau (‘22).

While some sports are in full swing preparing for their upcoming seasons, other sports still aren’t clear with how they’re going to approach our current circumstances with COVID-19. 

“I haven’t heard from anyone about what this season at Amador will be like yet, but my friend in another PE class said that her PE teacher told them that soccer will be starting soon at Amador. However, the coaches haven’t reached out to any of us as of right now,” said Kathryn Go (‘24).

Despite our ever changing circumstances, people seem optimistic about what’s to come for sports. Maintaining safety protocols such as wearing masks when in close proximities, physically distancing and cutting out contact, and staying home when experiencing symptoms is essential in taking the next step.