Throughout the year, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put mandatory pauses on youth sports activity to mitigate COVID-19. On April 9, Whitmer asked youth sports programs to voluntarily pause all activity. This was in response to the statewide rise in positive COVID-19 cases.
According to Bally Sports Detroit, Michigan high school athletic association Executive Director Mark Uyl, said there is a less than a 3% positive test rate among student-athletes. Districts will make decisions based on local circumstances.
While many schools chose to continue with the spring season, some schools, including East Lansing High School, opted to pause.
East Lansing High School baseball coach Mark Pendred said, “East Lansing decided to take a two-week hiatus on spring sports, as of Saturday morning, so telling the kids that we got delayed again was a little tough. It’ll be a shortened season and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do that, but we’re just going to have to play the days that we have and just do the best we can the rest of the way.”
Unlike in the past, Whitmer has made the pause on youth sports voluntary to gain more cooperation. High school student-athletes are required to antigen test once a week and follow safety guidelines. Antigen tests are provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services free of charge. All spring sports — including baseball, track and field, softball, girls’ soccer, tennis, golf and lacrosse — are played outdoors.
Pendred said, “There is an uncertainty and we do whatever we can. We’re doing the right things, taking temperatures, wearing the masks, and staying socially distanced during practice. We’re doing our part. And we know, I’ve talked to the kids a lot about this, that you can’t control the uncontrollable. So we have no control over that, and we want to treat each practice, and hopefully each game, like it was our last, because it could be.”
The Michigan High School Athletic Association hopes to see all three seasons get to the finish line this year. The MHSAA’s role in bringing back high school sports over the past year centered around safety protocols, rather than making many decisions.
Pendred said, “I know the MHSAA has some rules set forth on the do’s and don’ts, and we’re gonna follow those to the tee. So we’ll do our part, and hopefully other teams do their part, and we’re just going to try to limp through it, get in as many games, get these guys to the competition, and some experiences and memories that they’ll have forever.”
As a father to young athletes, husband to a high school basketball coach, former high school teacher, athletic director, assistant principal, coach, umpire, official and college athlete, Uyl has a unique perspective on sports throughout the pandemic.
Uyl said, “Having done all of those things during the course of my career gave me a real perspective on what parents are thinking right now, what coaches are thinking, how are school administrators trying to figure out a way to make this happen. There have been a lot of times where it was easy to get discouraged … Then going home and seeing my senior and also seeing my eighth grade daughter who are both very active, athletic kids, that was an incredibly strong motivation that we just needed to keep finding a way.”
According to East Lansing High School Principal Andrew Wells, safety protocols and guidelines require school administrators and leadership to stay on their toes to keep kids playing.
Wells said, “Recently they said we had to test all spring sports athletes starting April second, including those players from winter sports who were still in the tournament. So that’s something we didn’t expect from the get-go, and it was handed to us within the last week or so… Being on this roller coaster, as far as not really knowing what’s around the corner as far as COVID infection is concerned, those things always have you up at night worrying about what’s next.”
Student-athletes are also doing their part to mitigate COVID-19 while continuing to play.
Wells is particularly proud of the way the East Lansing High School community responded to the pandemic.
Wells said, “I’m just simply really proud of our kids, and the resilience they have exercised. Also the administrative support from the athletic director to our superintendent, and everyone involved. I think by and large the parents have come to appreciate what we’ve been able to allow our students to do, and they also appreciate the fact that we’re doing it in the most safe manner that we can.”
For some students, interscholastic athletics is the only sense of normalcy or social interaction they have right now, which is why there is push back on pausing sports again.
Uyl said, “Sports have given kids something to look forward to. We’ve had some kids in schools that have not yet spent a day in a Michigan classroom. No connection with teachers. No connections with their friends in the hallway or in classrooms. But those schools have still had athletics this year and that was the one thread of normalcy that some kids got. In a lot of cases it was their only connection to somebody outside their home.”
Despite the uncertainty, Wells said there is hope for normalcy.
Wells said, “If people do what they are expected to do over the summer months to reduce the infection rate and get us as close to normal as possible, I think the possibility of having sports in the fall in a normal setting is highly probable. But with this COVID experience, there are just some unknowns.”
Kaitlyn Hynes
Senior at DeWitt High School
Spring sport: Track and field, specializes in 1,600-meter and 3,200 meter runs
How has COVID changed your perspective on competition? “Before races, instead of getting too nervous, I just say to myself how thankful I am to even be at the race. It brought our team together because we just know how special it is to even be racing. I am very thankful when I can race now.”
What was the hardest part about the pandemic and sports? “I’m really bad at training on my own. I kind of do things too fast, so I got injured. The gyms weren’t open, so it was very hard to cross train. The hardest thing for me was looking at colleges because I feel like they looked at junior times, and my sophomore ones weren’t the best. It was hard to get colleges to notice me. I didn’t have as many options but I feel like it was a good thing because it was a little bit easier to decide where I wanted to go.”
Goals: Committed to Michigan State University to run cross country and track
Wesley Stierley
Wesley Stierley
8th grader at DeWitt Middle School
What spring sports are you playing? “I’m playing Amateur Athletic Union just to play more basketball outside of school. School season was fun, but sports were cancelled and it was on and off. With AAU there’s more certainty and you always know you’re going to get games and a chance to practice. The coaches normally find an available gym, either in a high school or middle school gym. I’m also in dance right now at Anne’s School of Dance, and we have a few competitions this spring. We have a smaller studio because we have less people. We just wear a mask and classes get out five minutes earlier so we can sanitize the studio.”
How did sports during the pandemic effect your mental health? “When there was nothing to do, no competing, and I love to compete, it was discouraging. I’m a social person and I love being around people. It improves my mood. With sports, I was pretty angry and frustrated with how on and off it was. Including the starts and stops, basketball season was from mid-November to early March. But we weren’t playing for two and a half months of it. We were on a team but there were no practices or games.”
Brendan Bettelon
Lacrosse coach at East Lansing High School
How do you think the return of sports impacts the student-athletes? “I’m sure that the kids who are coming to practice are relieved that they get to get out of the house. They get to see their friends and play lacrosse.”
How are student-athletes responding to being back to playing? “They’re slowly adjusting to the fact they have to wear masks and get their temperature taken, but I think that they all realize that they finally get to play the sport they love, so they’re not taking it for granted.”
