USC Baseball in the COVID Era

Life as we know it has changed to a new norm. Every aspect of life has changed. This includes sports. Currently sports are taking place in Upper St Clair, with restrictions. Sports such as baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, tennis and more have started up once again. Baseball in particular is very interesting, because of how distanced and separated players already are. Not only is it already not a close contact game, but players are generally spread apart. As of June 2020, summer games, spring games and spring practices have been happening. Players in Upper St. Clair voiced their opinions on baseball being back. 

John Marsh, a JV ball player expressed his feelings: “I thought that the school did the best that they could to stay away from COVID. In the dugout we were evenly spaced out and in the field we stayed distanced. The cleaning of the balls and the bats before games helped keep us safe from the virus.” John has played throughout the summer and spring and understands what it would look like if they were not safe. He said, “Some teams we have faced have been close to each other, eating the whole time, sharing drinks and not wearing masks.” He remarks that Upper Saint Clair Baseball is doing things very differently.

Another JV player, Peter Janowski, conveyed similar opinions about baseball in USC, “I believe that the Upper Saint Clair Baseball Association has handled the coronavirus accordingly. They have taken precautions that other sports have not such as testing athletes’ temperatures prior to practice and mandating mask wearing.” Peter enlightens us on the literal things Upper Saint Clair is doing for its baseball player. He says that they are “mandating mask wearing” and “testing athletes tempatures” which is hard enough with the multitude of kids they have. They are going above and beyond to make sure their players are safe. 

Unison is of the utmost importance when we’re talking about health. If there are conflicted opinions about it, such as parents feeling that their children are unsafe playing the sport, the whole association could fall under watch. That is what is so special about USC baseball. Max Bywalski, a centerfielder for the JV team observed, “The Upper Saint Clair baseball Association has handled COVID-19 very well by mandating mask wearing and checking our temperatures before practice. I definitely feel safe going to baseball practice knowing that our coach is taking this very seriously.” He is now the third to observe that they feel safe playing baseball at USC.

With all of this in mind, the players’ feelings and the different methods the association has put up to combat COVID-19, it is safe to say that USC Baseball is handling COVID-19 very well.