Upper school athletic department helps athletes stay in shape with spring sports season cancelled

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Aditya Singhvi

The tennis courts at Westmont High in Los Gatos remain locked up. “It’s sort of hard to transition from playing tennis every single day to just not doing anything and sitting around,” varsity tennis co-captain Ramanand Vegesna (12) said. “Sometimes when you’re doing your own workouts it’s hard to stick to something and you kind of get lost in what you want to work on, so I think [Volt is] a really good tool, and people who don’t have a lot of experience working out can use it and figure out what exercise they want to do.”

by Saurav Tewari, Reporter

Eight upper school sports have had their seasons canceled after the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the statewide regulatory body for high school sports, released a statement on April 3 announcing the statewide cancellation of the spring sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The eight spring sports include boys golf, girls lacrosse, baseball, softball, swimming, boys tennis, track and field and boys volleyball.

While upper school Athletic Director Dan Molin knew that the cancellation was likely impending due to recent statewide developments at the time, the end of an entire season still remained very disappointing for athletes. 

“Ultimately, it wasn’t a surprise. We all assumed this was coming. But it is still very, very sad. All of our athletes work very hard, and [they had] a season taken away from them, ” Molin said.

The athletic staff has been prompt in responding to the situation, immediately supplying athletes with ways to stay fit so that they are ready to excel when they return. Football Head Coach Loren Powers suggested Volt, a fitness app that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze performance and plan workouts, to the upper school community as one such method of staying in shape.

Boys tennis co-captain Ramanand Vegesna (12) noted that the app is helpful in making sure athletes stay dedicated to training. 

“It’s sort of hard to transition from playing tennis every single day to just not doing anything and sitting around,” Ramanand said. “Sometimes when you’re doing your own workouts it’s hard to stick to something and you kind of get lost in what you want to work on, so I think [Volt is] a really good tool, and people who don’t have a lot of experience working out can use it and figure out what exercise they want to do.”

Softball captain Natasha Yen (11) saw the upcoming season as a way for new players to become comfortable with high school softball and for the team to become stronger as they played more games together. Despite social distancing, Natasha is now focusing on keeping the team together by talking to them regularly and making sure they stay healthy.

“For team bonding, we entered into the TikTok competition as a team and we are currently looking to hold Zoom meetings together, ” Natasha said.

Although the athletic department has answered many pressing concerns, they face tough decisions ahead as the shelter-in-place order continues. One such question is that of senior night. Another important issue is college signing ceremonies. Molin said that both of these concerns will be addressed in the foreseeable future.