Return to play. Those are 3 words that athletes and coaches have been wanting to hear for months now. With the number of coronavirus cases diminishing, a high school season for some sports seems very possible. For now though, the only thing planned is to have workouts or mini practices which is a step in the right direction. Any athlete or coach will say that they are blessed to even have the opportunity to play in these current circumstances. With a plan in place, now all that can be done is for coaches and players to take the correct precautions to allow for an opportunity to play games after the first semester. 

Coach O’Brien who is the head coach of the baseball program, was able to share some of his feelings and thoughts on returning to play. He said “I am excited for the opportunity to work with the players again. We have never been able to start practicing this early in the year and now that we can, I believe that it will really benefit the team.” Even his tone when sharing these thoughts showed his excitement to finally get back on the field, especially after not having a spring season. He is probably not the only coach feeling this way. 

Some of the players on the baseball team also shared their thoughts on returning to play. Kade Henry, a junior at Tuscarora high school shared that “I am excited to get to play on my high school field again. Even though I got to play travel ball in the summer, I wasn’t quite as prepared for the summer without getting to practice and play for the high school.” Kyle Sanger who is also a junior said “I missed playing for my high school team. We had a chance to be good in the spring but never got the opportunity. With being able to start practicing earlier, I think our team could be much better and it will be much easier to figure out who has improved the most.” 

A lot of people are very excited and optimistic about getting to play a high school season. Even though only baseball coaches and players were able to share their thoughts, everyone in every sport, both coaches and players, would have said almost the exact same thing. Part of the excitement of high school is getting to represent your respective school for the sport that you love. A majority of kids at Tuscarora high school play at least one sport, meaning a majority of students will get to represent their school this year if all goes as planned. Excitement and joy are the only words to describe this right now and everyone hopes it can stay that way.