By Jack Begin 12/3/2020

As Maine continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases, student athletes are once again left wondering what the upcoming winter sports season will look like. Even Cony High School Athletic Director Jon Millett is left in limbo.

The spring sport season was abruptly cancelled with the onset of a global pandemic and fall sports were heavily modified — reducing most crowds, team sizes and the distances some teams traveled to compete. Winter sports are scheduled to start next week but with positive cases of COVID-19 increasing across the state, athletes are again bracing for a possible delay.

“We had 12 people die yesterday and 255 new cases,” Millett said on Nov. 24. “If that continues I think it’s realistic to believe that we could be back to where we were in March — with nothing.”

As of Nov. 20, Kennebec County schools were still designated as "green" with a relatively low risk of spreading COVID-19 through in-person instruction, according to the Maine CDC and Department of Health and Human Services dashboard. Schools within low-risk counties have the option to restart certain sports, which the Maine Principal Association announced on Nov. 9 can include some practices.

There was optimism among Cony athletes that teams could adapt and allow a winter sports season to take place.

“Right now, everything will happen, but with modifications,” Millett said.

The modifications are wide-ranging and different for each sport. Masks, hand washing and avoidance of shared touch items will be expected of all teams, according to state guidance last updated on Nov. 6.

Wrestling is among the highest risk sports due to the level of contact and will restart in stages. These stages will take some adjustment, but Cony wrestling coach Shawn Totman is already prepared.

“We’re at a Level 1 and 2 for the first month or so, which means conditioning and non-contact drills while wearing a mask with appropriate social distancing,” said Totman, adding he’s hopeful that, over time, wrestling will be able to progress to a competitive level.

But wrestling isn’t the only sport that will need to make accommodations.

Every sport except for swimming will be mandated to wear a mask both in and out of competition. This is a significant change for athletes, but basketball player Kyle Douin, a senior, is willing to do anything to play.

“Wearing a mask isn’t that bad really. I’m just willing to do anything to play,” Douin said.

Many players and coaches within the school community are willing to adapt in order to play. Making accommodations is minimal in the long run, because it will help salvage a season.

“Everyone involved in high school athletics has received our guidelines and is ready to comply with them one hundred percent if that’s what it takes to have a season,” Totman said.

Presently all winter sports, with the exception of wrestling, started on December 7th. However team based practices and scrimmages, which were supposed to start on December 14th, have been pushed back to January 4th.

“We need to make the most of it and try to have the best season we can," Totman said. “Having some type of high school sports season brings a certain amount of normalcy to the kids and coaches at a time when the world feels anything but normal.”