Due to the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 the girl’s varsity soccer season has been cancelled.

‘’I felt disappointed for the athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” varsity girls soccer coach Watson said. “It takes a lot of patience for the girls to put their season on hold.’’

J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, announced on Friday, March 13, that all schools will cancel all athletic activities and school. This change brought a mix of emotions for both spring sport athletes and coaches. 

‘’I felt very disappointed and almost panicked or worried,” varsity girls soccer player Molly O’Rear said. “This year I decided to try high school soccer instead of playing for club, and I was looking forward to seeing how I liked it. I was worried about how I was going to stay in shape and keep my skills up.’’

The state is closing down all school districts due to the danger of COVID-19 to students and staff.

‘’We’re not messing around with this,” Watson said. “Anyone who thought that this was an overreaction didn’t understand the mathematics that was involved. We should have been more proactive about this, but hopefully what we’re doing right now will be enough.’’

The players must continue to find ways to practice at home to keep in shape for next year or even club soccer.

‘’It has been hard but not awful,” sophomore girls varsity soccer player Katie Dalton said. ‘’I have gone to play soccer with a few of my old teammates and some of my new teammates at a local park. I want to make sure I am keeping up with my touches on the ball. For me, soccer is like another class in school, and you can’t miss too much of it or else you will fall behind. This time is extremely important to keep improving. It shows perseverance through the worst of times.’’

Without a coach, the team needs to continue improving on skills at home. 

‘’We have been sending out workouts that they can be doing while trapped at home,” Watson said. “Currently, we still have access to the outside, so we have asked them to do some interval training. Not just running for distance but change of speed. We also talked about keeping touches on the ball. Whether that’s in the back yard or basement. There are so many strength opportunities you have, like using your bodyweight.”

Staying home and social distancing can be hard for athletes.

‘’I have been journaling about COVID-19 everyday,” Dalton said. “It helps me feel a little bit in control even though I know I am not.”

Coaches and athletes try to recall a time before the pandemic when everything was smooth and running.

‘’I think already the amount of people that are missing their normal will make playing and practicing so much more enjoyable,” Watson said. ‘’It won’t be hard to think back to what it was like when this was all taken away. I think that when we do get back doing something like a warm-up that used to be tedious because we do it every day it won’t feel that way anymore, I will feel happy to be doing this.’’

Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker announced the closing of Illinois state schools for the rest of the school year issued on April 17. The IHSA declared spring state tournaments cancelled on April 21 resulting in a very difficult and emotional time.