Benji Maman staff writer

Daria Milovanova staff writer

The football season was cancelled mid-March after an announcement from the coach that they had to. Players reported that the coach’s decision was due to the team’s lack of players and time to prepare. 

According to team captain senior Max Menache, lots of different things were considered in making the choice. I reached out to the football coach, who did not respond.

“There were a lot of factors that affected this decision. We were very low on numbers, very ill prepared as the season was just thrown to us with just a couple weeks to prepare. We had issues with the equipment, and of course, the pandemic affected us just all around,” Menache said.

Upon cancellation of the season, seniors came to realize all that they wouldn’t be able to experience, including playing their last games and teaching incoming freshmen about the sport.

“I was extremely saddened. My fellow senior teammates as well as myself had worked very hard for the previous four years to have our high school careers end like that. We will never know what could’ve been. At the end of the day it is what it is, and there’s nothing we can do about it as it is completely out of our control,” Menache said.

Junior Chris Mai thought that the move from fall to winter/spring could have also been a factor.

“The football season was cancelled because it was a tight schedule for some people on the team that were leaving for spring break and because the procedures that came after leaving for out of state travel,” Mai said.

While team members were upset by the cancellation, some recognized the long term benefits. Senior Joe Pascoal commented that this temporary break will serve to prepare the team for success in future seasons. 

“I think this will ultimately be beneficial for future seasons as it gives our team the offseason and some to prepare for next season,” Pascoal said. “Instead of rushing and forcing the team into a season, now [team members] can be prepared and get used to the contact of the sport, which would limit injuries and people quitting because it was too hard.”

Junior Andrew Villaflor expressed that, despite the negative emotional impact, the cancellation of the season is a means of preparing the team for upcoming seasons. Students continue training with this optimistic outlook in mind.

“Hearing the news was quite upsetting, but as our coach said, we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Right now the team is focused on staying ready so we don’t have to get ready the following year,” Villaflor said. “We are staying ready for the next season and hopefully it will bring us more success.”