OLDS — It’s been a tough year for École Olds High School (ÉOHS) student-athletes and their coaches as they’ve tried to cope with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
But there’s finally a bit of hope on the horizon.
As COVID restrictions are cautiously lifted, Jeff Clattenburg, the school’s athletic director, is hoping they’ll be able to offer “a normal” badminton season, although he admits running one could still be challenging.
His greatest source of optimism though is track and field.
“Being outside and later in the spring, it is my hope that we might see some level of competition occur for the track and field season but I have learned not to hold my breath with these things,” he wrote in an email.
Throughout the pandemic, Clattenburg and other ÉOHS officials have tried to keep student-athletes as active as possible by holding in-house training and practice events – within Alberta Health Services guidelines.
Those sports included girls and boys volleyball as well as football.
“We have attempted to offer a basketball practice/training season but between the December shutdown and the current restrictions, it has been extremely challenging to offer something of value to this group of athletes,” Clattenburg wrote.
“We are currently offering a shoot around-style practice for any basketball players and we continue to keep our fingers crossed for more flexibility within the restrictions.”
Despite those best efforts, Clattenburg can see the restrictions are taking a toll on the school’s athletes.
“Unfortunately, the restrictions have been so limiting that I am watching our athletes struggle with the motivation to stay committed to sport and fitness,” he wrote.
“The toll the restrictions have played not only on the physical health but perhaps more importantly on the mental health and wellbeing of a group of students who are so used to filling their day with practices, training, games, tournaments, etc. have been immeasurable.”
Meanwhile, Clattenburg has come up with a couple of strategies to enable student athletes and coaches to cope with the situation as best they can.
One is to continue to offer athletics to students in some form at least and keep a close watch on their health mentally and physically.
“Our students are desperate for anything that allows them to focus on their physical and mental well-being,” he wrote.
“I keep hearing the phrase, ‘our kids are so resilient’ and they are, but they are also struggling to navigate in a time where so much of who they are and what they identify with has been taken away from them.
“We need to keep checking in on our students and make their well-being a focal point.”
Conceding that some parts of upcoming seasons and possibly the passion for sports will likely be lost, Clattenburg’s second strategy is to tentatively arrange some kind of camp or clinic for EOHS students to participate in during the spring if restrictions ease and allow that.
“I'm hoping to give our student athletes an opportunity to re-engage in a sport they love while continuing to move their skill level forward in preparation for what I hope is a more normal 2021-2022 school year,” he wrote.
