I know I’ve touched upon the topic of sports, but you’re probably wondering how the winter season has been going, so here’s what you need to know.
I’ve spoken with Fairhaven High School athletic director Christopher Carrig who has been very supportive of the athletic department, trying his best to get sports back up for Fairhaven athletes.
He shared the challenges he had to overcome explaining, “We ran into some restrictions from the MIAA and the Board of Health. We had a plan to do indoor track but weren’t able to, which was a big step back for the athletic department, not being able to offer a sport.”
Mr. Carrig felt it was his duty to push for the availability of sports this year knowing that his athletes rely on the athletics program to, “develop friendships, life long skills, and learn real world lessons while competing. Also, many of these athletes depend on the structure of sports to stay in shape and have a healthy, active lifestyle.”
Ariana Bucha who has been playing for the Girls Varsity Basketball team shared her thoughts while reminiscing on past seasons: “I miss hanging with my teammates in the locker room before games and practices, and bus rides sitting all together.”
She also shared that besides not having jump balls, the sport itself has not changed, but it’s the high energy around games and bonding with teammates that she seems to miss most.
Mr. Carrig also mentioned that he has seen “a different sense of purpose and intensity among athletes,” showing their appreciation and gratitude for what FHS extracurriculars have to offer.
For example, Maya Medeiros expressed a positive attitude saying, “I try to make the best of it because us basketball players are lucky to even have a season this year. FHS has done a great job with athletics considering the restrictions!”
Mr. Carrig was also happy to mention that the senior athletes were able to end their season on a high note, having their Senior Night this past week!
Ally Gamache explained how these aforementioned restrictions on sports have taken athletes for a loop.
“Running around with a mask on for over an hour each day the entire time gets us winded very easily. The restrictions have changed how we play basketball, with coin tosses to start the game and inbounding the ball from different places on the court.”
Freshman Parker Herman also discussed the differences between a regular and COVID-modified basketball season: “We only have two practices a week rather than five, and the games have been cut short to about nine games total.”
Another change made due to COVID is crowd restrictions.
Now, families, friends, and members of the community can watch games online through the Fairhaven Athletics website where links to games are provided. This is something that the high school plans on continuing to do past the pandemic, just recently pushing for permanently mounted cameras in the gym and on the field in order to provide the public with the opportunity to watch FHS sports at home or in the crowd.
The last few games for Junior Varsity and Varsity teams have already taken place, but stay on the lookout for Fall II sports including football, volleyball, and field hockey!
Visit www.fairhavenps.org and follow the link to Fairhaven High School, and then Athletics to find the link.
•••
Support local journalism, donate to the Neighb News with PayPal.
Click here to download the entire 2/4/21 issue: 02-04-21 WalkInSnow