Pitman High School is working hard to make sports happen for this school year. Despite the challenges faced, students, staff, and faculty have been working hard to make a sports season possible. 

For any sport to even qualify for practices, the coaches have had to make plans to keep practices socially distanced and safe for all. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to get sick.

There are many sports at pitman that are currently cleared for practices, such as girls and boys water polo, girls and boys cross country, and football.

Once these plans are made and written up by the coaches they then must be submitted to and accepted by the district. If they are accepted then, with these extra safety measures, practices can start for that sport. The time limit currently set for all practices is an hour a day.

An hour a day seems like very little and some may even question the efficiency of such little time. However, when asked about this particular problem, student athlete Margaret Kirkpatrick was quick to respond with a positive outlook saying;

“I do wish we had more time to practice, but I’ll take an hour over nothing! We just have to take baby steps and hopefully get back to normal someday.”

Another student athlete who is a sophomore this school year at Pitman responded, “The hour is enough because any practice is practice, and I’m just glad we get to do our sport”.

The hour that sports are currently allowed gives time for team bonds to be made and strengthened. It gives the athletes a safe way to socialize and see friends but still be safe and socially distanced as well as get some practice in. If anything, though the workouts may not be as strenuous as a typical practice, the athletes get the socializing they would not have access to at home behind a screen, and this helps keep a healthy mind which is just as important as a healthy body.

There are currently plans in the works to increase practice times from an hour to an hour and a half but they are still in the works and must first be approved by various heads in the district. The increase in practice times also depends heavily on the covid numbers in our county and if the sports that are currently practicing are sticking to their set guidelines.

When asked how she thought her sport was handling practices Margaret Kirkpatrick stated, “For water polo, I think we’re doing a great job of being safe. While of course being in a giant pool of disinfectant helps, we make sure to space ourselves apart.”

Similar to water polo, all sports that are currently practicing are sticking to their rules and staying socially distanced so everyone stays safe.