Saline Student Athletes Return to the Field With Safety and a Hope to Play

After a 30-minute run during soccer practice on the hot Hornet Stadium turf - about the last thing Jaden Pickett wants to do is "mask up."  

But Pickett and the other varsity athletes want to play sports with their classmates and friends at Saline High School this fall, so they're following every recommended guideline.

"It's kind of tough when you get off the field after running for 30 minutes and you have to put a mask on. It's hard to breathe a little bit," Pickett said during an interview Thursday after practice.

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Fellow senior Brayden Stavros chimed in to finish his sentence.

"Whatever it takes to have a season though," Stavros said.

For Stavros, who's been on the varsity soccer team since his freshman year, he wants to experience a soccer season as a senior leader. He's watched Zeke Grey and Ryan Nichols and others lead teams in a program that's been important to him. And now it's his time.

"My senior year is what I've been waiting for since I've started. Everything has been building up to senior year, so it means a lot to me," Stavros said. "I hope we can play in the fall. If it needs to be in the spring, it's not ideal, but whatever it takes to play."

Despite the pandemic and a Saline Area Schools survey showing about 30 percent of parents preferring virtual learning, the numbers for Saline's soccer team are high. On Thursday, watching the boys scrimmage, it was hard to tell what safety protocols were in place at first glance. But there were giveaways. The smell of sanitizer is prevalent throughout the stadium. The coaching staff sat in the bleachers, spaced and wearing masks. The players who weren't playing did the same. During warmups, the boys wore masks. During breaks, they wear masks. At the end of the practice, the masks stay on until they get to their cars. 

On their way into the stadium, they checked in with someone ensuring they've done their home screening and temperature checks. And then they douse themselves with sanitizer. On the way out of the stadium, they use sanitizer again.

Saline's Field Hockey program also practiced at Hornet Stadium twice Thursday. Seniors Ally Miller and Ashlyn Jenkins were glad to be back on the field with their friends - even if it's not quite like it used to be.

"It's nice to be back and seeing everyone. We have different rules and we have to stay apart and wear masks but we get to scrimmage for 15 minutes, and it's fun," Jenkins said.

Miller agreed.

"It makes it feel more normal, like we're kind of coming out of the quarantine," Miller said.

The field hockey players follow the same protocols as they enter and exit Hornet Stadium. During warm-ups, they use cones on the field to help them stay distanced. Sometimes, it's the little changes that stand out.

"Our team cheer is a bit interesting, because he have to spread out and put the sticks in, but we're not really close together," Jenkins said.

Some of the safety measures are awkward, but Jenkins and Miller say they are worth it.

"I totally feel safe out here because I know that my team, even away from field hockey, is trying to take as many precautions as possible so that we can keep our team safe," Miller said.

Every player and coach in Saline athletics working hard under the sun Thursday understands, however, that COVID-19 could rob them of their chance to play.

"We've been putting in a lot of work and it would be disappointing to not have a season but," Jenkins says, with a sigh and shrug, "I don't know, we're trying and we're playing like we're going to have a season, 110 percent."

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