Though COVID-19 has impacted a number of obvious aspects of our lives, it has made a considerable dent in smaller matters, such as fall sports. Although PDS teams are still practicing while social distancing, tournaments and larger matches and games have been cancelled. 

Tennis is a very distanced sport as is. The PDS Girls Tennis teams have fortunately been able to continue to practice both singles and doubles as normal, with the only exception being that doubles teammates cannot physically interact with each other. In the words of senior Hayden Masia, “It sucks not being able to hug my doubles partner after we win, but regardless, the team is so glad to be back on the courts together!” Both JV and Varsity still have matches scheduled against other schools, but the Mercer County Tournament and the Prep B State Tournament have both been cancelled. 

Cross Country has had a similar circumstance. Practices have been proceeding as usual with as much social distancing as possible, but meets larger than 2-3 schools have been cancelled. “A lot of the larger and more exciting cross country meets were cancelled due to the coronavirus, which is a bit disappointing to me as a senior,” said senior Yishi Wang. 

For Boys Soccer, practices are continuing as normal with a new game schedule. According to senior Trevor Kunkle, “Having a refined game schedule, every game counts. Since games can get canceled at any notice, we shouldn’t take them for granted.” Like tennis and cross country, all tournaments for soccer have been cancelled. 

The future is uncertain for winter sports, as they are indoors and thus have a higher chance of COVID-19 transmission. The best thing we can do to maximize our chances of having winter sports is to wear our masks and ensure the virus does not spread within the PDS community!