After a good stretch with low numbers of cases, New Jersey is now faced with another strand of Covid 19, the Omicron. With the Omicron bringing a second wave of large numbers of cases, safety especially in schools has become a large concern. Wayne Schools Administration has taken precautions to keep students and teachers safe which in turn has led to students being shut down and virtual for periods at a time.

With winter sports now mid season, teams have had to deal with players needing to quarantine and have had to adjust accordingly. The hockey team lost a few players for a two week period coming up to the holidays. When asked how this affected the team, Senior captain Josh Flom said, “We are always having some concern because we never know what to expect.” He then went on to say, “We come to the rink everyday to prepare. It doesn’t matter who we are missing. We know what we have to do.” 

Boys basketball has faced similar challenges. Both the JV and Freshman teams were shut down with covid preventing them from participating in the Holiday tournament. Varsity missed a few key players who needed to quarantine due to school precautions. When asked about the situation, Senior Jared Mintz said, “There is nothing we can do about it except show up and work as hard as we can. We have to learn to adjust to different lineups on short notice.”

Similarly girls basketball has faced a number of challenges dealing with Covid as well. With multiple players having to quarantine, games and practices have been affected. Senior Jenna Lewis said, “The hardest part is not knowing whether or not the next game is going to be canceled or not.” She then went on to say, “We are more grateful and motivated to play since the season could end at any time.” 

Ms. Caamaño, Wayne Hills fencing coach has been trying to keep her team positive during these times. She has been telling her team to “control what we can control” and “be prepared for everything.” She went on to say that it has “caused a lot of disruptions in terms of starting lineups… and practice has changed a lot and you can’t practice with everyone.”

Coaches have had to find ways to keep their teams positive through all of the shutdowns and quarantine. Learning to adjust to changes quickly seems to be a new skill coaches have had to learn during these times. With Covid still very much a factor in our everyday lives, it will be interesting to see what struggles continue throughout the winter season.