In mid March, at Emerson Junior Senior High School, athletes’ winter sports are coming to a close while spring sports are starting up and affecting students schedules in new ways.

Since fall sports started later and are delayed until the end of winter due to Covid-19, many students are experiencing overlapping of their sports. This is causing winter sports to be delayed as well which can interfere with the start of spring sports.

“All of my teachers and coaches have made the transition very easy for me but I also can understand where it could be stressful on some students if their coaches and teachers are not as helpful,” Gianna Sassi, a tri sport athlete, is currently participating in winter track with her softball season coming on the way. 

A lot of students have definitely gotten lucky with the way their schedule has worked out with the overlap of their sport because of how lenient and helpful a lot of the coaches are. 

According to Gianna, there has never once been a time where there has been a conflict and a decision to go to one instead of the other had to be made. Since track is still mainly in season, on a typical day she would have track practice after school, and then have softball practice maybe once a week. 

Still, some students don’t mind having a busy schedule, like Gianna Sassi. 

“Even if one of them gets cancelled I probably have the other one on the same day,” says Gianna Sassi.

While some students welcome a busy schedule, others find it overwhelming. Many students said that they are constantly doing some kind of sport takes away from their schoolwork or sleep schedules. Others spoke about how they have a very high risk of injury due to overuse of their muscles. 

Overall, even though the sports seasons are very close to each other and there could be some negative consequences from the season overlaps, this does not seem to be a big issue to student athletes or their workload throughout the season. Although students would prefer to play each sport in their respective seasons, most would agree it’s great to be back with their teammates.