By Garrett Greene ‘21

With the cancellation of many fall sports for high schools in Illinois, many questions about winter sports taking place have been brought up. Will the Crusaders be able to tip off on the court this winter? Will we be able to face off in the ice rink?

As of now, winter sports are allowed only twenty contact days to practice in Sept. and Oct. The athletes must wear masks and sanitize after every practice. These regulations have been tough on both the athletes and coaches.

“Yeah, wearing masks during practice is tough, but if it allows us to have a basketball season then so be it,” said senior Frank Cunnea.

Frank Cunnea is one of the many athletes who hopes to have a final season. If this season does not take place, lots of seniors will lose their chances to earn an athletic scholarship to college.

Another senior athlete, Patrick Malone, hopes to be able to get on the ice this upcoming winter.

“I believe that if the proper precautions are taken, we will definitely be able to lace up our skates this winter. I am looking forward to competing one last time with my friends in the hockey rink,” said Malone.

Although most winter athletes and coaches want to have a season, Governor Pritzker has other ideas. He believes that the Coronavirus has not settled down enough for any sports to take place in Illinois, and does not want to risk lives because of a few games.

The IHSA has made regulations for the upcoming seasons that would assure safety. They plan to have every player, coach, and referee take their temperatures before every game. No fans would be allowed in games, but fans would be able to watch these broadcasts online. Any team that has a player test positive would have to quarantine for two weeks.

Varsity basketball player Dylan Warda said, “These precautions would assure safety to the players, coaches, and referees. I strongly believe that if we can prove we can assure safety to Governor Pritzker, then we should definitely be able to compete this winter.”

In many other states, contact sports such as football have been taking place. These games have followed similar precautions to the ones the IHSA proposed. Almost no sports-related Coronavirus cases have been reported. If Governor Pritzker takes this into consideration, then winter athletes and coaches will be able to compete for their schools in a few months.