How Lessons Learned in Sports Helped High School Athletics Survive the Pandemic.

High school athletes are willing to come forward with the onset of Covid-19 symptoms even though they fear it could shut down things for their teams thanks to coping strategies taught through sports.

It is simply false to think that young athletes would not come forward with the onset of symptoms during the pandemic in the fall of 2020. In fact, it was quite opposite.

Some may argue that doing the right thing by coming forward at the start of COVID-19 symptoms is too difficult and not coming forward is linked to a chain reaction of disease spread.

High schoolers endured the closing of schools in March of 2020 which isolated them from their peers.

In fact, the study from UW-Madison had showed that it caused significant and alarming levels of anxiety and depression.

The public awareness messages about how to stop the spread of COVID-19 reached high school athletes along with the rest of the world.

High school athletes understand the responsibility that goes along with trying to achieve some sort of normalcy in their lives during the pandemic.

Along with other inconveniences that the rest of the world is experiencing due to the pandemic, doing the right thing to play sports during the COVID-19 pandemic include:

• Turning down invitations over the weekend. In normal circumstances simply gathering with friends would not have such harmful effects on your teammates.
• Having courage to come forward with the slightest start of something that may or may not be a symptom, knowing that it could shut things down for the team.

High school athletes rose to the challenge.

Young athletes were found thinking about their own actions and how that extends to their teammates.

Sports teach us to cope with loss.

Athletes can cope with the effects of missing a game or two during the season.
Most young athletes do not want to cope with the guilt of passing a virus on.
Yes, high school athletes will come forward with the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.

Copyright 2020 Lindsey Rozinski. All Rights Reserved.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.