ALL NOV ROAR PAGES

Pandemic shakes up fall sports
GAVIN LITCHFIELD /
STAFF WRITER
In a year where it seems almost
everything is banned, it might come
as a surprise that the fall sports season
ever happened. While the Florida High
School Athletic Association gave a
return to sports a green-light, new rules
and regulations had to be put in place
for the safety of the participants.
Those protocols included mandatory
temperature checks before any
participation and enforced social
distancing among teammates. And
the most controversial rule of all: the
requirement to wear face masks at all
times except during vigorous workouts.
Swim coach Kyle Berry called the new
regulations a necessary evil.
“I do not believe that the regulations
are too strict,” Berry said. “Our job
as coaches is to protect our studentathletes,
now more than ever.
Regulations can always be relaxed as
things change.”
Berry added that the changes exposed
improved ways to run practices
brought about by social-distancing
requirements.
“In order to abide by the socialdistancing
rule, we will have four
swimmers in each lane, two on each
side of the pool,” Berry said. “During
a normal year we have six to eight in a
lane, however I have found that four per
lane gives the swimmers much more
practice space. I may even continue this
practice when we are back to normal.”
Although Gov. Ron Desantis has been
cutting back guidelines, sports teams
have been shut down for not following
rules set by the district.
The school district in coordination
with the Brevard Department of Health
has placed Melbourne and Merritt
Island high school football teams in
quarantine for not following regulations,
resulting in a surge of positive cases.
In addition, all Eau Gallie High School
sports were temporarily suspended
when BPS closed the school for a week
due to an uptick in exposures.
Other COVID-19 impact included
limited capacity for meets and games,
a shorter season and reduced junior
varsity opportunities. But junior
cheerleader Ashley Hilmes decided to
make the best out of the situation.
“The changes do not ruin the season
for me,” Hilmes said. “I am just happy to
be able to do my sports.”
Because some team members attend
school each day while others learn
from home, less time is available for
building chemistry through sharing
time together.
“The team aspect has remained as
strong as ever,” said senior Layla Auter,
who is captain of the swim team.
“However, I definitely miss seeing
the team outside of the pool, and as a
captain, it’s a huge bummer because I
love seeing these guys. Sadly it’s been
hard to meet all of the new swimmers
and really get to know them, but this
team is so supportive and caring.”
That separation becomes even more
frustrating when an athlete must
quarantine. Junior cross-country
runner Alex Hilmes missed two weeks
due to COVID-19 exposure despite
testing negative himself.
“It ripped a hole through my season,”
Hilmes said. “It’s a lot harder and more
boring running without the team. My
quarantine period definitely negatively
affected my season.”
ATHLETES TO WATCH
BOWLING
Josh Dexter, 10
Years of Varsity: 3
Average: 203
Approach: right-handed
Favorite Ball: Motiv Villian
"I've practiced so much to
this point and every day I'm
getting better. Soon I'm going
to start local tournaments
so hopefully my practice will
pay off."
CROSS COUNTRY
Sam Oliver, 12
Years on Varsity: 4
Personal Best 17:07
Season best 17:11
Highlight: First Place
at Hawk Invitational
“Though I’ve had to
push hard through many
workouts individually, it’s
really my team that’s been
keeping me successful this
season.”
VOLLEYBALL
Grace Kirschner, 12
Years on Varsity: 3
Kill Percentage: 32.2
Save Percentage: 83.3
Ace Percentage: 16.7
“Our team fought during a lot
of games and had a whole
lot of fun when we could win
after pushing through the
end.”
SWIMMING
Katelyn Owl, 12
Years on Varsity: 6
Team Status: Captain
Best Times
• 25.3 50 freestyle
• 100 butterfly 59.6
“I’ve made so many friends
through swimming and I’ve
gained people skills to use
in the future. The swim team
has really made me a more
social
person.”
GOLF
Alex Bercea, 7
Years on Varsity: 1
Season Averages:
• Par 3 - 3.4
• Par 4 - 4.8
• Par 5 - 5.3
“I am proud of him honestly.
He is representing
boys’ golf very well.”
– Lila Iwanowski (10)
WESTSHOREROAR.COM / ROAR I 17