After the school’s announcement last year that the 2020 spring sports season would be canceled, the athletic department announced that this year’s sports season will extend into July. These changes are things that the NVOT community has never seen before and raise some new questions. 

Despite this year’s obstacles, both athletes and coaches have been able to persevere. According to Thomas Kaechele, Director of Athletics at NVOT, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) made sure to “put an all-out effort to make sure that the spring 2021 season would take place as normal as possible” since spring athletes felt the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic last March. Usually, spring sports would start the first week of March and end the first week of June, but this year the season begins on April 1 and will end in July. More information and dates for specific sports can be found here.

With sports starting later than usual, there has been some overlap between seasons; however, many coaches, like Softball Head Coach Melissa Landeck, are not worried about conflicting events within the sports schedule. “I am not concerned. It has been a challenging year with many overlapping seasons and events being rescheduled,” Coach Landeck said,  “We will continue to navigate it all as best as we can.”

Although scheduling this season was tough since all sports will go right up to graduation, there are real benefits to this change. Senior and girls lacrosse captain Emily Derrico is grateful for this opportunity, “After losing last year’s season due to the pandemic it has really made me think of all the little things that were taken for granted,” she said, “it has given us time to reflect on what has been lost and not take anything for granted. This [change] ensures that there is enough time for many players and seniors to come back with more energy and hustle with many seniors playing for their last season.” 

As the spring sports season approaches, it is likely that the administration will release more information. The Lance will bring you any updates as they happen.