TOWAMENCIN — With fall sports coming to a close, the basketball, wrestling, winter track, swimming, and diving teams are just some of the many sports teams with high hopes of competing this winter, however, they are not 100% guaranteed a season as a result of the sudden rise in Covid cases. Many are wondering, what is the reality of what these winter sports seasons will look like?

The anticipation is rising for many of North Penn’s student-athletes, waiting in angst for the school board to make their decision on the likelihood of winter sports starting up. Eager to begin training, many coaches have begun pre-season practices to start getting their athletes in shape but are hesitant to increase the risk of exposure for their athletes.

Additionally, Montgomery County recently announced its plans for the next two weeks consisting of strictly virtual learning. This news, as shocking as it is, is also detrimental to athletes in particular because other schools in our conference don’t have this limitation. As a result, North Penn athletics will be put on a halt for at least two weeks, while other schools in our conference will be training. Despite this setback for the Knights, the North Penn athletic directors have been doing everything in their power to keep their programs alive in the midst of the pandemic.

North Penn girls basketball coach, Jen Carangi, has started up optional practices for the Knights, allowing the girls to get some extra touches with the ball. Carangi shares her input on what she thinks the season will look like and how she thinks the Coronavirus will impact their season as a whole.

“As of now, we are proceeding as if the season will start on time and are keeping our fingers crossed that the return of students to the school will not increase Covid cases,” Carangi said.

The girls have been given a framework for what their season will ultimately look like, but they are still waiting to hear from the athletic department and school board. As of now, their season is shortened, just as fall sports were, and will consist of 16 games. The girls are extremely excited to play, despite the elimination of non-league games.

Just as the girls have started getting back into the swing of things, the boy’s team has had these same opportunities. Coach John Conrad leads the Knights into their season with an optimistic view on things, as he is looking forward to what the knights have in store for themselves.

“We have started open gyms for returning players and tryouts are scheduled as of now,” Conrad said.

Tryouts are scheduled to begin on November 20th for the majority of winter sports. The coaches and trainers have been working diligently to keep everyone socially distant and stress the importance of the athlete’s behaviors outside of school, as it very well could determine the outcome of their seasons.

As students are returning back to school, the anticipation of their upcoming seasons is quickly rising. Many new precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of North Penn’s student-athletes, similar to those enforced during the fall. Despite the Coronavirus’s inflictions, it hasn’t stopped our fall athletes from competing, which is giving our winter athletes some hope, but only time will tell.