Sports

The PISD Sports schedules may be accessed here: https://www.pecos.k12.nm.us/athletics

Sports after COVID

By Trinity Romero

Many student athletes have been affected by returning back from COVID-19. But do you think COVID-19 has affected how student athletes play now? As you start growing older, being a student athlete becomes more stressful and harder. As a freshman and a student athlete at Pecos High School, COVID for me has made sports and school more stressful, and so much more pressure. Even other kids in my grade can agree with me that COVID has made sports and school different. When COVID started, I was a 6th grader, not worrying about sports so much. When I started growing and playing more sports, I started to think I wasn’t doing enough, because I felt like I had to make up for the sports I didn't play while in COVID, so I can be good enough. When I started high school, I felt like I needed to step it up and other athletes I know can agree with me.

At the beginning of COVID most student athletes were worrying and thinking "How are we going to play sports while being safe?” When they announced that we had to stay home and cancel sports, most of the kids I know were mad, worried, and even sad, because sports were like a get away from life. Sports, for some athletes, are like a getaway from home, providing something to enjoy in life., Sports help mental health, and even physical health. Sports allow us athletes to make new friends and explore more. It gets us out of the house and gets us to do exercise, and do things besides being on our phone and staying inside in our bed. Coming back from COVID coaches, teachers, parents, and athletes are still scrambling and worrying about getting life ‘back to normal.’

I interviewed an athlete that has played most school sports, is good at all of them, and played sports for most of his life. Elias Chavez is a freshman, honor roll student, and is involved in basketball, wrestling, baseball, cross country, and track. He most definitely knows about pressure and how to play. “You're nervous about not being able to compete at that level or feeling nervous or scared. You also in some cases have to earn your spot on a team so you have to work harder than everyone to get it. Sports is harder after COVID” “ I also interviewed a new beginning student athlete, Angel Montoya, who just started sports last season and is already on varsity her first year. She is also freshman, honor roll student, beginner volleyball varsity player, softball player, basketball player, and cheerleader. “I feel like there would be less pressure if COVID never happened. Yes, for me I feel that there is not a lot of pressure but there are still some instances where I could feel like I'm being weighed down. Like people changed during COVID. For me sports were harder because of the people who were in them and also because we were locked in for so long.” They both know how much it is so play harder and how stressful it can get.

I conducted a survey in which I asked questions to a variety of student athletes at Pecos High School. “Do you worry about getting COVID or being sick while playing your sports?” Of the students surveyed, 57% said no. Another question was asked: “Have you gotten stressed about getting equipment or money for sports after COVID? In this case, 57% answered with "yes." Even coming back from COVID with families not having enough money or barely getting back on track it is harder to get equipment and worrying about other money issues. “After COVID, do you think you have to make up for the time you missed while in quarantine?” A majority of those surveyed responded with "yes," which I can agree with, because I personally have been through it. And the last question was “As a student athlete do you get stressed badly when you have too much pressure for doing school work and then wanting to be good enough for your sport?” All students surveyed responded with "yes."

The pandemic put people's lives on pause and caused mental health issues due to minimal interactions and lack of sports. Now student athletes feel like they need to work harder and feel like they missed out while in quarantine. Even student athletes I know are pushing themselves too much, hurting themselves mental and physically. Some athletes and even upperclassmen feel like they have to work harder and feel more pressure just to have playing time and not sit out. With everything beginning to get back to normal, athletes are trying their hardest to get back on track too. Do you think athletes have more things to stress about after COVID? How do you feel about having pressure about sports after coming back from COVID?

Wrestling--Not Just for Boys!

By Angelica Gomez

What is wrestling? Well first, you need to look at how the sport is played and understand the rules of the sport.

Wrestling is a sport played on a mat with a circle in the middle of it; it is an individual sport, in which wrestlers compete according to weight group-- wrestlers always wrestle a person in the same weight group. When you are wrestling in a match, there is a coach next to the mat. What the coach is doing is refereeing. If someone makes the wrong move, taps out, or steps out of the circle, they call it, and the match is over.

When I would go to all my brother's wrestling matches and watch him wrestle, I always noticed the wrong moves the wrestlers were making. When I interviewed my brother Josiah Gomez, he stated “Wrestling is a pretty easy sport, as long as you understand the rules.” My brother's friend Socks, who also wrestled, insisted “When I first started to wrestle, it was pretty hard, but then I hadn't gotten pretty good at it.” My brother's other friend Twinkie, on the other hand, does not enjoy wrestling, and feels that “Wrestling is not a sport I would do because it is mainly a contact sport.” My brother and all his friends have different opinions on the sport.

When I think of wrestling, I know it is a sport traditionally for men, but I believe that it is going to become a sport that is both for men and women. Wrestling should not be just designed for one gender; wrestling should be for everybody, in which friends, family and other people can get involved. I think wrestling should be a sport everybody invests in. My brother agrees that “Wrestling can be for both, but men are the main people that do it. Women can do it, but not a lot of women do.” My brother's friend Twinkie also feels that “the sport can be played by both, but it's mainly a men's sport.”

As a young lady that likes to wrestle or watch wrestling, I think the sport can and should be be played by both. My brother and his friends all agreed that wrestling can be a sport for both genders. My sister Nayeli, who competed in wrestling at Pecos High School, noted "I love the sport, but I feel like we should have more women playing it too.” I think she's right; women should do wrestling, especially because it helps keep us in shape. My brother recalls, "When I did wrestling, I had to keep on a strict diet so I could keep the same body weight.” I think he is right, because all of the people I interviewed said something about keeping a diet, or that wrestling has kept them in shape. Wrestling is an excellent sport to help keep in shape and maintain a good diet. When you're wrestling you get to know your weight and your strength. Everyone I have spoken to about wrestling has told me that when they were wrestling, the diet they were on maintained their weight.

Wrestling is a sport everybody should enjoy. It is a sport that both men and women can do; it should be inclusive of all who would like to try it. Wrestling helps maintain a healthy diet, helps you stay in shape, and helps to increase physical abilities. You can compete in wrestling: man, woman, boy, or girl. Anyone can do it if they just believe enough!