As winter and fall sports come to a close, multi-sport student athletes at Lincoln reflected on the difficulties that arose from a sports season adjusted by COVID-19 guidelines. 

“Because my sports did overlap quite a bit, I chose to prioritize the sport that was in-season, and [I] tried my best to make the most practices I could for each sport,” said junior Joy Nelson, a tri-sport student athlete who plays for the girls soccer and lacrosse teams, and ski races for the alpine ski team. 

Due to COVID-19, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) pushed fall sports back several months to February of 2021, which is normally the middle of the winter season.

Winter and spring sports were not pushed back, with winter sports starting in December and spring sports starting in April. This timing caused multi-sport student athletes to make difficult decisions about how to manage their time involving sports. 

Nelson experienced challenges while managing her sports schedule. 

“Overall, it was fairly tricky to manage because there was a decent amount of overlap,” said Nelson. “There was a pre-season for each sport, so we started soccer while ski season was still going on, and lacrosse when soccer was still going on.” 

Freshman Reece Fisher, a member of the boys baseball team and soccer team, also had difficulty managing his two sports. 

“I wasn’t able to go to both sports [in one day] because of COVID protocols,” said Fisher. “It was difficult to communicate with coaches about what game or practice I should go to, and I had to drop baseball to play on the varsity soccer team for six weeks, which was hard to do.”  Despite the challenges, both athletes agreed that being able to play their sports was worth the trouble. 

“Being a multi-sport athlete can seem really challenging but it’s always good to be busy, because it gives you that communication with others in tough times, and that’s what keeps me going,” said Fisher. 

Nelson agreed, as she was intent on pursuing her sports.  

“I was determined to do all three [sports], so it was not difficult for me to make a decision to decide whether or not to quit one,” said Nelson. “it was simply difficult to decide which to prioritize.”