Trojan athletes across different grades have been training mentally and physically during the postponed fall season. For the 2020-2021 school year, CIF-SS decided to condense three seasons of sports into two seasons, a fall season and a spring season.

With the Coronavirus pandemic and distance learning in full effect, training and remaining hopeful has been a struggle for many athletes. To acomodate quarantine, althestes have had to adjust their schedules and change their mentality in order to be able to stay in shape. 

One example of this can be seen with senior lacrosse player Mya Wang’s routine. During so. she “trains 6 days a week, with 4 days conditioning, running and jump rope, and the other 2 I do Pilates and bodyweight training,” further adding that she “always listen to music while exercising to lift spirits, even if it’s just a minuscule amount” 

Nonetheless, the promise of the return of California sports has been welcomed by all athletes. 

“I’ve been training with college athletes and working out to stay in shape,” Junior football Noah Scherson said. Scherson went on to add “Fall is my favorite season. Football season being pushed back has changed my perspective and made me appreciate the sport even more. Since we haven’t played in so long I realize how much I miss it.”

The loss of a fall season has impacted sports far beyond the scope of the field play. The absence of unity and motivation that comes through offseason training and team practices adds even more frustration to players as they aspire to train together. 

“With sports being canceled it is hard for me to stay motivated and to continue my training at the same intensity,” said sophomore water polo player Ashley Wallin. In order to stay motivated, Wallin included that he “surrounds [himself] with a team and friends that are very motivated which keeps [him] working hard”

Reasonable so, athletes remain doubtful about the continuation of sports this year, despite CIFs announcement about the fall season being resumed in winter. 

“[Fall season being delayed] makes me worried that there won’t be a season for us to win this year,” said senior water polo player Matt Wallin, and to stay motivated “ I remind myself that I need to keep training to play in college”

Despite all the challenges, athletes across all sports still are finding the strength to train to their best and stay motivated in preparation for the upcoming sports seasons.