When students returned to remote learning in mid-November, The John Carroll School suspended all athletics. Now the fall season has been canceled.

The return of sports to John Carroll had added a sense of normalcy and seemed to insinuate a step in the right direction in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this time, students were beginning to have in-person classes one day per week. Now with the surge in COVID-19 cases within Harford County, and the outbreak at the school itself, the administration had been forced to revert back to full-time online school, effectively ending athletics as well. While we were able to return to the one-day a week routine, sports are uncertain.
As suspending sports was the responsible thing to do to minimize new cases and keep the students and faculty safe, many people still are unnerved by the decision.
For many, sports are simply something to do with their free time. For others, sports represent much more.
Many of John Carroll’s athletes have ambitions to play collegiate sports. Though many are already committed and signed to their respective colleges, others were relying on this season to make that dream happen. Now with the fall season’s fate determined, some of our athletes won’t get their final opportunities to get noticed.
For the other athletes who use their sports as simply something to fill their time, this could serve to be problematic. In some cases, athletics could be the only reason a student is motivated to come to school, and without it, they will see a decline in their grades and effort as well.
Some may see their sports as an escape from an unfortunate circumstance while some may use their sports season to keep them out of and away from trouble.
As everyone hopes to have any type of season that they can, the uncertainty as to what may happen places an uncomfortable feeling on not only the students and coaches, but the staff who makes the tough decisions to keep everyone safe.