All is well in Medford if you’re a high school sports athlete. There is what we call a “normal” fall season already in play.
And that’s the best news you can have when you consider this fact: the last time anything was normal for Medford High School athletes came in February of 2020. That was the last full competitive high school sports month for high school athletes across the world before COVID-19 took shape and shut everything down.
Since then, sports have been played at different times of the year, or simply not at all. Shortened seasons and seasons that included multiple restrictions, rule changes and in-game modifications were the norm.
All of these factors, of course, were put into place with the goal of keeping student-athletes and their coaches safe and healthy.
And now, with the global vaccination program well underway, things are back to normal almost 100 percent. Almost, because there are still some modifications, though not even as close to as many as there were before.
Medford athletes in indoor activities and traveling on buses will have to wear protective masks.
Other than that, it’s a full fall season without restrictions of who teams can play, where they can travel and how they play the actual games.
Sure, student-athletes will be getting tested weekly for COVID-19, which is never a bad thing. But that’s a change from normal they surely won’t mind if it means doing so will get them a normal fall season.
And as a result of fewer restrictions, numbers are up, too. Bob Maloney, the Medford High School athletic director, said participation numbers are great and up across the board.
“That’s great because we were a little nervous about that,” Maloney said.
How can you blame him? It’s a world of uncertainty, and who knows what the last 19 months did to aspiring young athletes. Medford is in good shape, though, with teams in football, boys’ soccer, golf, cross-country, volleyball, cheerleading and crew getting ready for their seasons the last couple of weeks.
Games were scheduled to start officially the week of Monday, Sept. 6.
And also in the great news department: middle school sports are back with baseball, softball and cross-country ready to compete during the fall season.
To add to the positivity, Medford will be playing in an eight-team Greater Boston League, with Lynn Classical, Lynn English and Chelsea joining the league for the first time in a full school year. Those teams began play earlier this year during the spring season.
“We’re excited for this GBL season,” Maloney said. “We’re off and running with eight teams, which is fantastic. We’re hoping to attract even more teams by the end of the (year).”
A 10-team league would be ideal, for sure. Schools always entertain different leagues for better opportunities for their student-athletes. Masconomet, for instance, joined the Northeastern Conference last season.
“Numbers are up at all levels,” Maloney said of Medford fall teams. “We’re just happy we’ll be able to get these kids some normalcy, and we hope the train keeps running normally.”
