After many weeks have gone by, high school athletes have been getting their season ripped away from them by Covid. For a lot of them, this may be their last season and last opportunity to play for a scholarship, and as of right now, they are not going to get much of a chance to do that.

Over the last two months, winter sports have been on and off a plentiful amount of times. Being around athletes every day, it is clear that they are suffering from the withdrawal of losing their favorite sports. 

Now there is a clear question circling around in the air: what is the plan to make a difference and hopefully get some of their seasons back?

The last few weeks have been filled with concern, but finally, the Coopersville boys basketball team got an idea. They have begun to organize a peaceful protest at the state capitol on Saturday, January 30. Most of Michigan has agreed that all winter sports athletes and coaches need to have their voices heard, and they believe that a peaceful protest is the best way to do that. 

As of very recent news on January 28, our governor has told a Michigan Detroit reporter it is a possibility that winter contact sports may start in days to come. This is huge news for these high school athletes and a sense of relief that there is at least a possibility they will get some of their winter season. For the seniors this year, it has been very stressful not knowing how their last high school year will end up. 

Looking at the most recent Covid-19 news in Michigan, it is looking like we are hitting a plateau in cases throughout the state. 

Next month, the health department is predicting that we will have a one-dose vaccine that is 85% effective, which is an incredible rate of efficiency. With the distribution of the Covid vaccine having started within the last few weeks, we are starting to see the case numbers begin to get back under control. This is news all athletes have been waiting to hear. The spring sports athletes are very optimistic about getting their season, and even sports that will go on next fall are most likely going to look very close to how they did before Covid. 

The distribution of the vaccine should be available to the public before summer even begins and will almost certainly be there for anyone who wants it around mid-way through summer.

As the next weeks and months pass we will start to get a very clear picture of what we will be dealing with for the next few seasons of sports, and possibly have a good idea of what this upcoming summer will look like as well.