Graphic by Sesame Gaetsaloe/The Choate News
A number of Choate students have decided to learn remotely this year, not for fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus on a campus full of students, faculty, and staff, but in order to participate in athletic practices and games that the School has deemed too risky amid the ongoing pandemic.
For student-athletes, Choate usually provides the perfect opportunity to develop their athletic skills, compete at the highest level of competition in the Northeast region, and receive plenty of exposure to college coaches. However, with the cancellation of all fall and winter interscholastic games, Choate athletes are now only able to practice and play socially-distanced, intrasquad scrimmages. For some student-athletes, merely scrimmaging against teammates isn’t enough; they desire to compete in actual matches and get real exposure from college coaches.
All athletes who were on campus in the fall witnessed the stringent health guidelines and Choate’s efforts to enforce them. Although the rules protected the student body, faculty, and staff from Covid-19 outbreaks, sports teams felt the immense drawbacks of the regulations.
Girls’ Varsity Basketball point guard Kayce Madancy ’22 said, “Although I think I would gain a lot from coming back campus and practicing with the team, I chose to stay online because at home I can play real games and actually play basketball. At Choate, we will not be able to come within six feet of each other and therefore will not be able to get any real game experience.”
Madancy acknowledges both the value of the boarding experience and the importance of the health guidelines, but she explained that, ultimately, the benefits of staying at home and competing far outweigh returning to Choate. She added that “many of my classes will be online anyway, so it just does not make sense for me to come back.”
Varsity swimmer Ben Cho ’22 echoed Madancy’s sentiment. “It was a difficult decision for me not to come back to campus for the winter term, but it just doesn’t make sense for my athletic career. Our coach has not specified what the exact rules will be regarding Covid-19, but I am expecting them to be strict,” he said. At home in California, Cho can continue to compete and practice everyday, as he has been doing for the past few months. “In the end, it just doesn’t make sense to return to campus,” he said.
A common concern among athletes, especially juniors potentially looking to get recruited, is what the exact health guidelines will be regarding practice in the winter term. Many assume that the rules may be even stricter than in the fall in terms of what coaches and players are allowed to do because almost every winter sport practices inside.
Players worry that the social distancing restrictions on campus will make it difficult for coaches to simulate competition and maximize practices. For close-contact sports like basketball and hockey, students realize practices will not come close to live games.
Glenn Halliday ’21, a member of Boys’ Varsity Basketball and Varsity Baseball, also elected to stay home for the winter to work on both basketball and baseball. “If I went to Choate, I would never be able to hit. Now I am able to hit at a place close by whenever I want and also work with my trainer to get stronger everyday,” he said.
