Spring sports season will look closer to normal

Now a senior, Windham's Hayden Bioldeau keeps
his eye on the ball during a boys' prep tennis
scrimmage in April 2019.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA   

By Matt Pascarella

The high school spring sports season is coming up and at the moment it resembles the closest to “normal” I’ve heard about in a while. The season, which began for pitchers and catchers on Mar. 22 and will begin for all other sports on March 29, will be a close mirror to the 2019 spring sports season. All spring sports will be able to participate with full schedules, playoffs, and the return of fans.!

Fans will be required to be masked at all times and observe social distancing. Per Governor Mills’ executive order, effective Mar. 26 Windham will be able to utilize 75 percent of its permitted occupancy in the stands and as of May 24, Windham can utilize 100 percent of its occupancy.

What an open tournament playoff would look like and how it would be seeded and ranked is still up in the air, but playoffs will happen.

Softball began with their first pitcher/catcher arm conditioning practices earlier this week and the team is ready to get back on the field.

“I have high expectations for this squad whether it’s varsity or junior varsity. The ladies showed up with some energy,” said varsity softball coach Fred Wilcox. “I think they’re just as excited as I am to get back out there with the team. We have a lot of young talent that will have an instant impact and coupled with that, we’re bringing back some talented veteran players that have great leadership and softball skills. This should be a great recipe for success this season.”

The boys lacrosse team has been preparing mentally before they take the field. They read the book “The Hard Hat: 21 Ways to be a Great Teammate” by Jon Gordon based on a Cornell lacrosse player who passed away. The team discussed the book, characteristics of successful teams and qualities that they want on their team.

Boys’ lacrosse is very excited to get back together and begin working on common goals. Coach Peter Small noticed some hesitation regarding the possibility of COVID-19 disrupting the season.

“We know that some players have been off of the field for quite a while,” said Coach Small. “We recognize the need to focus on culture, chemistry and approach. We ... intend to approach the season as we do others – work to be better every day as individuals and as a team. I think we have a great group of student-athletes on the roster, both who they are as people as well as who they are as players.”

This is an extremely positive outlook for the upcoming high school spring season. Especially after last year, I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and seeing the kids play. <