There is always one season that every high school athlete looks forward to. Boys’ soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter. Every baseball player looks forward to the start of their season in the spring. With the long-lasting effect of COVID-19, the Broncos’ baseball season, along with the rest of the school year, is canceled. Some have a travel team to participate in over the summer, but for others, this is the end of the road. Although this season has come to a close, Broncos baseball players are already preparing for the next.

“I have stayed prepared, as I have kept a positive mindset this whole time, and on the physical side I have been lifting and running every day to keep in the best shape possible, and just keep working on crafting my game every day,” junior Rayth Peterson said.

No matter what level these players are competing at, all athletes will suffer from some element of separation and discouragement during this rapid and unexpected change. Fortunately, these teammates are working very hard to keep their spirits up, and to keep going in hopes of being able to play again sometime soon.

“I’m practicing as much as I can at home. I was just excited to pitch and see all of the kids from last season,” sophomore Owen Naughten added.

Since this global pandemic started, everyone has had to socially and physically distance themselves from their peers and teammates. However, there is still room for improvement.

“Work while you wait… [this is a] perfect opportunity to continue to improve and get better at your skills, from strengthening your body to working on being mentally tough, in addition to skill development. We need to keep working hard and use this as a chance to get better. Try to stay positive and know that good things will come again.” Assistant Coach Nate Gray advises all players during this time.

While there are many athletes like Peterson and Naughten who are disappointed about the cancellation of this baseball season, seniors like Nate Gazda lost their final opportunity to be a high school athlete.

“The thing I was most excited about was being able to spend my last year of high school with a great group of guys, and I was looking forward to making a run at the state championship. For all of the senior athletes, we’re all in the same boat, whether you’re playing your sport in college or not. This is tough for everybody. We all just need to stay strong and realize that if we got a chance to go back out onto the field this year, that we wouldn’t take it for granted because your senior season in high school is a big deal, and we might not have gotten a chance like that again,” Gazda said.