By: Ben Faulkner
After a while of uncertainty and confusion, highschool sports started back up again after the COVID-19 summer. As sports are a hallmark of Saline’s excellence, students were ecstatic that sports would resume, even if there were some restrictions. MHSAA, following executive orders, has mandated face coverings for all moderate to high contact sports, including soccer, football, and field hockey. At first glance, masks seem like they would be impossible to play in. Running, jumping, and yelling could become ten times more difficult. However, the CDC and many other credible health sources state that masks in sports are needed to minimize the spread of COVID 19. But is this plausible? And how well are high contact sports wearing their masks?
Three high contact fall sports at Saline: soccer, football, and field hockey, are at a very high risk of infection, therefore, they are required to wear a face mask while playing. Dominic Rossi, an accomplished soccer player and a captain of the boys Varsity Saline Soccer team, says that “It did hinder my ability at first, having a mask covering half of your face was not pleasant, but again, through time I adjusted and was able to get back to normal performance.” Luke Masters, a member of the Saline Varsity Football team, isn’t bothered by masks, saying that “once you're in the game, you really forget about the mask and just play football.” Among these athletes, there is a sense of acceptance and compromise with the mask; getting used to the mask and the adrenaline rush that comes with high school sports eases the effects of the mask.
On the other hand, some athletes have had an extremely negative experience with masks. Maya Prasad, a captain of the Field Hockey team, stated that “I passed out over a lack of oxygen and had a severe cramp, and many members of my team threw up after.” So, there is a considerable concern when evaluating the repercussions of mask-wearing in sports. Another issue that Maya brought up was how “They fall off a lot while playing and kind of hinder not only breathing but also communication with each other.” Masks have also become a nuisance that distracts the player from the game.
As for how well Saline teams have been wearing their masks, it is difficult to measure their success truly. However, it is a strict rule, consistently articulated by coaches, that Saline players wear their masks as much as possible. Masters gives more insight by revealing that many football players use clear plastic shields on the bottom of the facemask to enable the player to see through the lower part of their helmet. By these accounts, Saline teams have done a fantastic job wearing masks to the best of their ability. There is a very understandable urge for players to remove their masks for a few moments for them to catch their breath, but that does not take away from the overall consistency of mask wearing. Furthermore, Soccer, Field Hockey, and Football, at the time of this article was written, are all in the playoff season, and if anyone on the team contracts COVID-19, that team’s season is canceled. So there is an added motivation to wear masks properly.
One main issue expressed by players is that when the mask gets wet, it becomes much harder to breathe. The CDC recommends that one should not wear wet masks, and changing out masks frequently is key to maintaining proper conditions to breath easily. However, it is difficult to rotate through masks frequently if a player is playing for long periods of time, which hinders their ability to play their best. There seems to be a large variety of sports masks, but there is no easy answer to this dilemma. To ensure that players keep themselves and others safe during COVID, it is necessary that sacrifices are made, even if it is at the players’ expense.
Megan Baars snaps a shot of Jason Chen(11) and his teammates celebrating after a game.
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