As of April 12, Long Beach City College has permitted the athletic programs to start in-person conditioning for students. But despite this development, all sports competitions have been canceled for Spring 2021.
The initial announcement of in-person sports instruction came on March 10 and included teams such as baseball, cheer, football and so on. Since then, the college has installed many safety regulations in preparation for the return of students on campus.
LBCC’s Softball Head Coach, Megan Martinez, described the process of getting her athletes approved to practice in-person as “very thorough.”
“Our students have to have a bi-weekly COVID test, a health screening everyday and are required to take an online COVID precautionary course,” Martinez said. “They have to wear masks, they don’t share equipment, they remain six feet a part, and are given a wristband once they are cleared for the day.”
Yet despite the long list of hoops these players must jump through, Martinez calls it “vital” that her team conditions in-person.
“A lot of it has to do with mental health,” she said. “ It’s really important for (athletes) to be together and to see one another, in order to form that bond.”
Timothy Fife is a freshman at LBCC and a member of the baseball team. He claims that the first two weeks of on-campus practice consisted of mainly push-ups, body weights, and sprints.
“This week we’ve been cleared to hit in the cages which was kind of surprising because last week we weren’t even allowed to bring a glove,” Fife said.
But despite the return of in-person conditioning, both softball and baseball will not be having seasons this school year.
In a unanimous decision made this past February, the presidents of the South Coast Conference Colleges canceled all Spring 2021 athletic competitions.
For athletes such as Fife, this decision is detrimental to his plans of playing at the university level.
With no games, it’s difficult to get the attention of recruiters and Fife claims that within the past year he’s seen many of his teammates transfer out of LBCC.
“Off the top of my head, we lost three pitchers, a catcher and a shortstop to other junior colleges,” he said. “But you have to go where you’re going to get the opportunity to play.”
In the face of his frustration, Fife is still hopeful for next year.
“If the school really does allow people to come on campus next year for class, the team is pretty certain that we’re going to get a season,” Fife said. “Orange County has successfully done a season and even so have the high schools.”
As of right now, LBCC is preparing to allow 40% of Fall semester classes return in-person.
However, as the California State University and University of California systems have announced their plans to require all campus-goers to provide proof of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, the question remains whether LBCC will do the same.
If so, this would be another hurdle that not only student athletes, but all students would have to clear in order to return.
“At least (athletes) get to be on campus,” said Fife. “Because I know a lot of students are still looking from outside.”