With the sports world starting up once again, we are starting to see the different ways to keep athletes and personnel healthy.

Professional baseball was the first sports league to restart during the pandemic and decided to still travel and play all over the country. The National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), Professional Golfers Association (PGA), and National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), are the only sports leagues that have restarted without a bubble.

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Unlike these leagues, the National Basketball Association (NBA), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Hockey League (NHL) all restarted inside a bubble. 

A bubble is a contained environment, where players live while they play, similar to a college campus, except they cannot leave. The players are completely isolated from the outside world and can play without worrying about spreading or catching Covid-19. The MLS set up a single bubble in Orlando, Fla. The NHL, however, has set up two separate bubbles. One bubble is in Edmonton, Canada, for the Western Conference teams, and the other is in Toronto for Eastern Conference teams. The NBA and WNBA have both set up a singular bubble in Orlando and Bradenton, Fla., respectively.

“It really means a lot [to me] to have a team to get behind and root for [on television],” said Hills sophomore soccer and baseball player Will Aschenbrand.

The NBA bubble has seen relative success on the surface. So far, there have only been three recorded breaches of the bubble by players. Danuel House, a forward for the Houston Rockets, was removed from the bubble amidst accusations of him bringing his girlfriend into the bubble without informing the league. Lou Williams, point guard for the LA Clippers, was excused to leave the bubble to attend a funeral but was seen at an Atlanta nightclub, and then Richuan Holmes, power forward for the Sacramento Kings, was caught ordering outside food to the bubble. Both received warnings from the NBA. 

Despite these breaches of protocol, there have been no outbreaks among players. Unfortunately, the same does not apply for personnel. According to Marc Stein of the NY Times, NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, admitted that despite having zero positive tests among players, there was an undisclosed amount of positive tests among the 6,500 staff maintaining the bubble behind the scenes. 

On the other hand, the MLB had major outbreaks among players and staff. More than 45 games had to be postponed due to positive tests among the Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals players and personnel. The postponement of games started at the end of July and has continued until early September. It seems as though the MLB has contained the spread for the time being, but it could return at any time, especially as teams duke it out in the battle for the pennant. 

The NFL has had its first major outbreak among the Tennessee Titans this past week but has been taking measures to ensure that this does not spread. So far, the Titans have recorded 24 total positive tests, an increase from the 8 positive tests from last Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Titans organization was also caught breaking protocols and organizing a workout despite having numerous cases among players and staff. 

Along with the Titans, the New England Patriots have had 3 players test positive for Covid-19 and have had their facilities shut down for the time being. With cases in the Titans and Patriots organizations rising, more and more games may have to be postponed or rescheduled.

Although bubbles are an attractive idea for high school athletics, including Hills, the logistics of it are impossible. It would require that all athletes from across all of northern New Jersey to live in one place, away from their families for months. It would also mean that the students would have to attend classes virtually full time. For schools like Hills that provide each student with their own laptop and have the ability to be fully virtual, that wouldn’t be an issue –– but not every school has this infrastructure. Some schools don’t have laptops for every student or software to communicate effectively while virtual. Despite this lack of total isolation, high school fall sports and inter-high competitions have restarted across the county.

“I’ve really enjoyed the restart. [It is] one of the only normal things right now and it feels good to play again,” said Aschenbrand.

It seems to be a common consensus among students that sports are very important to athletes, and being able to participate in them is a good thing despite the risks. Many students spend their entire day looking forward to playing their favorite sport and see the restart as a good thing. 

High school sports

Although the restart is popular among athletes, the Covid-19 pandemic has not ended and has put the restart in jeopardy. Ramsey and Mahwah High Schools both shut down because of Covid outbreaks in their schools. This means that they had to shut down their athletics as well. Hills Football was scheduled to play Ramsey this Friday, but that game will not happen. Although Mahwah has been reopened, there is no way to know how many more schools will have outbreaks going forward. 

“I think that we need to be prepared to be unprepared a little bit, meaning like if we’re supposed to be facing Ramsey on Friday and they’re in quarantine, we need to adjust and adapt and you know, make the best of it… But the days of having a set schedule all season is gone for this year so we need to adapt,” said Mr. Dave Bucco, head coach of the wrestling team.

Because of the questionable future of sports this year, coaches and athletes alike have to be able to adapt well. Covid-19 cases can outbreak in any school at any time so schools across the nation must be flexible in their scheduling. Because games can be delayed on a whim, coaches, and athletes alike have to be able to change their schedule to accommodate for unorthodox practice and game times.