The Fall Season for Poly’s Rising Collegiate Athletes

Many of Poly’s recently graduated athletes are looking forward to playing sports in college, however, the upcoming season will look like none before. Collegiate student-athletes typically report to campus early, move in ahead of the freshman class, and become acquainted with campus before the start of school festivities and academic classes. This year schools are experimenting with different options to keep student-athletes safe in the wake of COVID-19.

With much of the nation grappling with how they will open schools in the fall, Poly’s incoming collegiate-athletes face the difficult question, “What will my first season look like?” Not only will their experiences be different than those before them, but they will also differ amongst each other.

Cayla McFarlane was headed to Harvard in the fall to play on its women’s soccer team. However, the Ivy League has recently announced that it has canceled its fall season this year. McFarlane, a rising freshman, is permitted to be on campus and will have the opportunity to train by herself. She hopes this will help her stay focused and keep up the momentum from her summer training.

Thomas McConnell had plans to play football at Pomona Pitzer this fall, but the school has announced that the semester will be completely virtual — cancelling all fall sports. There is a slim possibility of a spring season, but Thomas shares that it seems unlikely. Thomas is now considering taking a gap year in hopes of having four full seasons of football at Pomona Pitzer, as well as four full in-person academic years.

Along with Thomas, Wiley Roberts had plans to play football at Pomona Pitzer. Although he is disappointed that the fall season has been cancelled, he continues to train and study the playbook for when football can resume.

Kate Salembier was headed to Wellesley to play on its women’s volleyball team in the fall. The school has informed the team that they have cancelled its fall season as well. Wellesley has decided to have first- and second-year students on campus for live classes for the fall semester, and third- and fourth-year students on campus in the spring. Kate is excited to be on campus for her first semester in college.

The University of Chicago’s women’s soccer team is still hopeful for a fall season, and Margaret Jameson feels fortunate to be part of a program committed to bringing students back on campus for the fall. She will be moving mid-August and will begin a reintegration process. First, she will be quarantined for 10 days. After that, she will be paired with a buddy on the soccer team and they will work out together for a week. After the buddy week, she will be placed in a small pod of 10 teammates who will train and eat together for a week. The hope is that after four to five weeks of reintegration the team will eventually be able to train together as an entire team. The school intends to compete regionally, eliminating any travel risks.

Jackson Treister joined training camp for Boston College’s football team earlier this week. He will go through an eight-day quarantine period and is only allowed two hours of outdoor training. After the quarantine period, he will move into a suite with one other person and will train in a small group. As of right now the season is still a go, but they will only compete against other Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams.

Schools across the nation are trying to figure out how to open up again and what athletics programs will look like. The Poly Athletics department is anxiously awaiting information from CIF on Monday, July 20, about high school sports in the coming school year. The directives from CIF will determine how Poly will proceed with its athletics program. Check back next week for the latest news and announcements.