As fall sports returned and spring sports prepared for tryouts, the Howard County Board of Education was faced with a tough decision. Should they get rid of one of the most coveted yet overlooked positions in sports: The Fan? They decided to ban spectators at all indoor games, which raises the question of how this will affect the players and their performance.
With a 8-0 sweep on the season and a first-round win in the playoffs, Reservoir’s Volleyball team seems to be taking advantage of the quiet crowds this year. This record is largely due to junior setter and Baltimore Suns Howard county player of the week, Jessica Rothermel, who has headlined Howard County sports ever since she stepped on the court.
“This year our group had to be collectively all in. With the loss of some major seniors like Maddie Barrett, Laya Saunders, and Yasmine Jadec, we had to teach some of the younger players how to step up and play at the high level that we expect here at Reservoir.” Jessica said.
With Senior seats empty and bleachers cleared, this season almost never even happened. Local sports fans winced at the sound of another lost season and Howard County’s Board of Ed was faced with an ultimatum. Sports with no spectators, or no sports at all.
“Everyone on this team loves this sport, and I know that anyone and especially the seniors would do anything if it meant their family could come and watch them in person but there was no way we were gonna give up this season. We just love the game too much and we knew we were gonna come out there and give them a show they wish they could see with their own eyes.” Rothermel said after her final regular-season game.
After a great regular season, the lady gators are now looking towards making a run in the county championship (a tournament with every team in the county set up in place of this year’s state championship).
Even with games in the books, there are still games to be played, and in the time where you can’t take a breath without getting another notification of a cancellation, Reservoir still has a tight rope to walk.
“We’ve seen many teams kicked to the curb by covid restriction and covid outbreaks and we can’t be ignorant and say that it can’t happen to us but we just gotta keep our heads down and stay safe.” Jessica said.
This season, four teams–the Longreach Lightning, Glenelg Gladiators, Oakland Mills Squarions, and River Hill Hawks–have been caught flying too close to the sun, and their records reflect it. With Covid cases at all-time high and schools returning to full capacity, it was inevitable that at least one team caught it. With this trend of teams falling to Covid, Reservoir took advantage and swept the season. One has to ask if this trend could translate to county championships and whether or not the Gators deserve it.
In a year where a healthy team is always a winning one, we are sure to see more sweeps and sets from the Lady Gators as they are served up a playoff run while dodging cases of covid.
