By Scott Wagner
The pandemic has been difficult on all of us in so many ways, especially on our kids. As in life, so much of how we overcome obstacles depends on our mindset and our willingness to find the best way forward to achieve our goals. The Mid-Pacific Athletic Department is never short on positivity and creativity, and we are proud to say that our school continues to run an extensive and safe program for our student-athletes during the pandemic. As soon as our students returned to campus in the fall of 2020, there was a plan in place to bring practices back for two sports every week through-out the first semester. While there were no games played for any school that semester, Mid-Pacific offered skill development in almost all sports. By the spring semester of 2021, the ILH sanctioned games in about half of the sports, and the Owls were prepared for the return to competition. So far in the2021-22 school year, all sports are on as scheduled, and we are ready to continue to adjust to anything that comes our way.
We have asked a lot from our community over the last year and a half, and we know that things will continue to be modified. I am thoroughly impressedwith everyone at Mid-Pacific. First and foremost we are here to support our students, and they have truly been amazing. Our student-athletes have been great at following our COVID protocols. Our community understands that the best way to continue to play and participate in our athletics program is to abide by the procedures. Overall, students have been very understanding of what can and cannot be done during the pandemic, and have been extremely appreciative of all that we can offer.
Boys Varsity Waterpolo
The same goes for parents. I know first-hand how important it is to watch your child participate in athletics, and there has been little to no actual watching of practices or games for an extended period of time. We have been able to offer livestreaming of our games for parents, families, friends, and fans from all over the world, and we will continue to do so until we are able to welcome parents back in whatever capacity we can.
Finally, I am completely impressed with every coach in every sport. Coaching is already a difficult job, so adding in the challenges of ensuring mask-wearing; maintaining no contact between players; and sanitizing and cleaning equipment regularly, is not an easy feat. I am certain that we have the most dedicated coaches that any school could ask for. We are truly blessed to have such incredible and selfless individuals coaching our students at this challenging time.
Throughout the pandemic, Mid-Pacific has continued to be a leader across the state. We are proud of what we have been able to safely offer to our student-athletes, and thankful to be a part of such a patient and understanding community. A special thanks to everyone who works in the Athletic Department. Through all of the extra hours to set up livestreaming; to personally check to make sure that every player and coach from both teams properly filled out a health screening; to endless temperature checking; to ensuring that our protocols are safe and followed; we all appreciate the extra work that was put in to make the program a success.
