The coronavirus forced everyone involved with high school sports to rethink the way they approached every aspect of athletics from off-the-field preparation to on-the-field implementation.
The challenges were immense and required patience, flexibility, grace and most of all unity going forward as 51 percent of school districts in Virginia opened the school year fully remote. Everyone had to buy in for sports to occur this school year even on a limited basis.
The plan wasn’t ideal, but it was better than the alternative: no athletics at all. Some school districts elected not to hold a winter or fall sports season. According to the Virginia High School League, 239 out of 318 schools had a winter sports season, while 303 had a fall sports season.
Each high school in Prince William County, city of Manassas and Manassas Park held shortened sports seasons to varying degrees. But while a number of sports have seen declining numbers over the years, there was an added drop-off in turnout caused by concerns stemming from the coronavirus.
In the winter, which was the first season to compete, only two schools were unable to field varsity teams: Gar-Field girls basketball due to low numbers and Manassas Park wrestling for precautionary purposes due to the sport’s close contact.
No Prince William County, city of Manassas or Manassas Park team ended up playing a full 14-game basketball regular-season schedule, the maximum number of games permitted under the compressed Virginia High School League plan that allowed all sports from the three seasons to compete this school year.
Mandatory 14-day quarantines caused the most disruption to the basketball schedule after forcing some boys and girls programs to pause or end their seasons. Each of the three jurisdictions delayed the start of their basketball seasons as well.
For the football season, Osbourn, Unity Reed and Manassas Park only fielded varsity programs. And only Battlefield, John Champe and Patriot had freshman teams in the six-team Cedar Run District. The Cardinal District cancelled all freshman sports for the school year due to logistics.
For the spring, Battlefield, Patriot and Woodbridge were the only three of Prince William County’s 12 public high schools to field junior varsity and varsity teams for all the spring sports. Traditionally, there are no freshman spring sports teams. Potomac was the lone county high school to field only varsity teams this spring.
Other major adjustments and challenges included athletes required to wear masks while competing and playing in front of no fans.
The 2021-22 high sports schedule will return to normal starting in the fall with a full slate of games. But what occurred this school year will not be forgotten anytime soon.
We asked those directly involved with athletics this school year a series of questions related to how they dealt with the challenges and how it impacted them.
Their comments were edited for length and clarity.
NATE MURPHY
Hylton High School head football coach
• What do you think worked and why? What worked were the recommendations and policies that were put forth by the county. While it was not the most fun thing to do, they did ensure everyone was safe and I am proud to say that C.D. Hylton had zero positive cases for the football season. Big picture, the thing that worked, we were able to play. It meant a lot to see our seniors get to have some type of normalcy.
• And what did not work and why? The calendar did not work. It did work in the literal sense that we had a season, but playing three games in 10 days is not ideal for football. Due to the missed preparation, we played our best games toward the end of the season after we had the acclimation period.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? Number one, the virus. The second biggest challenge, adopting to the lower number of student athletes participating in football.
We faced that challenge [of the virus] by our players making sacrifices from only being allowed to have two parents per family attend, to not hanging out with people outside of our “football bubble.”
Participation wise, [we] tackled that situation by combining all three programs, practicing together without any designated sub varsity coaches. Every coach was a freshman, junior varsity, and varsity coach.
Hylton coach Nate Murphy takes to a knee in hopes of a touchdown to keep his team in the game in overtime against Potomac during the squads’ h…
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? The experience changed me in that I had to always have two plans for everything we did. From having a practice plan that allowed only half the team to practice at one time, to having an additional plan for if a coach were to be out sick. I have gained the experience of planning in greater detail.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? The biggest lessons I learned were that if you really want to accomplish something you will find a way. The other lesson learned was how committed our student-athletes are in Prince William County to being great athletes but even greater students.
• What are you most grateful for? I am most grateful for my Hylton family. I am grateful no one got sick and how supportive the administration was from the athletic trainer to the supervisor of athletics for PWCPS.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenge? The people helped from my coaching staff to my players and their parents to my administration all the way up to the central office. It just wouldn’t have been possible to have a season without anyone one of those groups.
FRED MILBERT
Colgan High School head girls basketball coach
• What do you think worked and why? I think the commitment of the parents and players to follow our requirements for participation was excellent. They sacrificed and made the effort to ensure we had a safe season. I feel like our Colgan “team” understood what was at stake. They wanted to make sure they we were able to play this year and not miss the opportunity.
• And what did not work and why? It was very difficult to plan. There were restrictions on the time you could be with the girls, too little preparation and too many games back in a short time frame. [It] felt rushed, and at times, game schedules reflected meeting other “needs” rather than what was best for the players.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? Not knowing what was coming next was a challenge, not having sufficient JV teams for competition this year, rescheduling due to COVID and squeezing a lot into a short time period. I handled this by constant communication with parents and players, staying focused on what we could control, remaining positive and trying to stay as prepared as possible for any scenario we had thrown at us.
Colgan head girls basketball coach Fred Milbert never stopped teaching even after his squad built up a big lead over visiting Woodbridge on Mo…
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? It made me aware of the “old” family atmosphere I had years ago and the value of those relationships for success.
It helped improve relationships with everyone that I had daily interaction with and improved communication with my own family.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? Learning what I can control and what I cannot, then to control what you can. Do not let non-essential things direct your attention away from the importance of what you are able to do for yourself and others.
• What are you most grateful for? My family’s willingness to allow me to spend time with the players and all of us practicing safety and healthy decision making.
The players and their parents for trusting us to follow the process and keeping their daughters safe.
The parents and players making the commitment to remain diligent from August through February to stay safe from COVID. Unselfishly, our group made the commitment to not only protect themselves, but also each other.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenges? My experience, patience and knowing that you cannot change the things you cannot control and be flexible (like dealing with “snow closings”).
Communication with anyone, team and parents, and everyone.
Colgan’s athletic trainer Ashley Ausbourn. The open communication and collaborative effort she gave to make sure coaches were prepared and aware at all times.
BEN HUFFMAN
Brentsville High School swimmer (Class of 2022)
• What do you think worked and why? The volunteers. With all the new regulations, it required people to think outside the box in a new way to run the meets
• And what did not work and why? A lot of the regulations made it 1,000 times harder than it had to be.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? The biggest challenge I faced was that all pools were closed in the area so unlike other sports (soccer, football, basketball, etc.) you can’t replicate swimming on land. So that was really hard. When the pools did open, our practices were much shorter and we just didn’t get a lot of time in the water. I handled it by cross training–running, rowing, jump roping anything that would get my heart rate up for a long period of time. I used the time to focus on core strength and flexibility too.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? It made me realize that I will never take for granted the opportunities that I have to swim. That everything can be taken away in a matter of days. It also made me realize how much I missed not being in the water and that I really do love the sport.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? Probably to not take anything for granted. I learned a lot about self-motivation and working hard despite obstacles. It was up to me to motivate myself to get out there every day and move/workout. It was hard to be motivated when you had no idea when you might be back in the water, but I learned that I had more discipline for working out than I thought I did.
• What are you most grateful for? I am grateful that we (me and my family, and friends) were able to stay healthy during COVID. I am grateful that we were able to have a swim season period. Lots of people worked really hard–coaches, administrators, and parents–to make a season happen from dual meets to regionals and states. It brought a sense of normalcy to a really crazy year. I think it was something that we all needed and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to swim and be around my friends.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenges? My friends definitely helped me. We couldn’t really get together, but we had a lot of good times on XBox. My family helped a lot too. My sister lived in New York City and my brother was in college when the pandemic hit. They both came home so we had a full house for the first time in a long time. It was fun (and sometimes a bit crazy) having everyone home again. It wasn’t as lonely. My parents helped a lot too. Whenever they heard there was an open lane anywhere to swim they were reserving a lane and driving me there. They kept all of us sane and bought us a dog which really helped with the boredom!
CHARLIE LOPEZ
Forest Park wrestler (Class of 2022)
• What do you think worked and why? The ability to continue wrestling with our travel team Powerhouse Academy in Fredericksburg. This allowed us to continue wrestling, work hard to prepare for states when high school wrestling would reopen in 2020.
• And what did not work and why? Wearing masks while we wrestled and having no friends or family in the stands to cheer us on. The atmosphere was not the same. When I won first place for states, my parents were in a hotel lobby watching me on live stream.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? Biggest challenge was having to travel outside of Virginia to wrestle. Other states had less restrictions allowing my parents to watch me wrestle.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? The challenge was adapting to change. standing in line at a wrestling tournament to check my temperature, waiting in my car to wrestle, no pictures taken to record my accomplishments, no parents to cheer me.
Forest Park’s Charlie Lopez jogs off the mat after his victory at 182 in the Region 6 Wrestling Championships that concluded Monday, Feb. 15, …
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? The biggest lesson I learned was quickly adapting to change.
• What are you most grateful for? I am most grateful for my parents and coaches from Powerhouse Wrestling Academy.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenges? My love for wrestling helped me deal with the challenges our world was facing with COVID.
ALENA HILLYARD
Osbourn Park High School softball (Class of 2022)
• What do you think worked and why? Everyone cooperated. With the schedule and trying to make things happen, my coach was really good at encouraging us.
• And what did not work and why? It was weird not having lineups announced or being able to fist bump or shake hands with the umpire or someone from another team.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? The schedule and how it affects recruiting going into the summer [travel ball] season. This season, it was weird. There was no season last spring and we did not start well this season. It was harder to come together as a team. Twitter was a big outlet for recruiting.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? It made me more patient in life.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? The biggest lesson is to keep pushing through tough situations.
• What are you most grateful for? That we had a season.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenge? My teammates and my parents.
WESLEY WILLIAMS
Battlefield High School football (Class of 2022)
• What do you think worked and why? Our athletic trainer and managers helped us so much. They kept us safe.
• And what did not work and why? At first, adjusting to the masks. It felt like we were swallowing the mask. But then we we were able to clip the mask on to the facemask and that helped us.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? It was hard to hold out hope to play. But once we were on the field, everything took care of itself.
Battlefield defensive lineman Wesley Williams goes on the prowl against Unity Reed during the teams’ matchup on Friday, March 5, 2021.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? It made me more appreciative of things. If you had told me I would not have been able to play this season, I would have loved practice that much more.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? Enjoy the little things.
• What are you most grateful for? That we had a season.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenge? Definitely my faith and my family. I’m a Christian. When sometimes you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, remember you are not alone and you can get through tough times.”
MIKE PAYNE
Gar-Field High School activities director
• What do you think worked and why? I think a lot of different things. The VHSL did a good job of developing the ‘Championship Plus 1 model” and that trickled down to our central office. This is something we had never been through before so we tried to make the most of it. Once we had the guidelines, we applied them.
• And what did not work and why? The condensed schedule. We had to turn things around faster. But the main priority was allowing the kids the opportunity to play.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? Learning and adjusting to all the guidelines and fitting the needs. It was one day at a time to make sure everyone had what they needed. We’ve come a long way. September feels like a lifetime ago. It was so draining and stressful.
Gar-Field High School activities director Mike Payne
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? Perspective when things are taken away that are beyond your control. Don’t take things for granted and stay in the moment.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? The big thing for us was communication. You had to be able to communicate electronically to corral all those things and put a plan in place. We won’t go back to selling paper tickets. Everything will be done electronically. We were able to do a lot of different things without meeting in person. We had our share of hiccups streaming the games, but we’re in a better situation where people know they can pick something they want. That’s another silver lining. More people are electronically savvy and having the National Federation of State High School Associations Network allowed us to do that.
• What are you most grateful for? Spending more time with family. It forced us to make time for each other. We definitely did a lot more as a family than we normally would have done.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenge? The people in all facets. Everyone at our house, but also our great team at school. Our support staff helped kids feel comfortable.”
ERICA DUNKELBERGER
Manassas Park High School athletic trainer
• What do you think worked and why? We had several different mitigations strategies we utilized an Manassas Park from COVID screenings, temp checks, social distancing, masks, education and many other schools in the area. I think all of it worked on some level as each strategy was one piece of the puzzle in helping keep our athletes safe and playing the sports they love.
• And what did not work and why? As many things evolved throughout the pandemic we learned that some things were not “as effective” as others. After reviewing the data and determining that the contactless temp checks prior to every workout/athletic session were not as effective as we would have liked, we no longer utilized that strategy at the start of fall sports. We continued to utilize temperature checks in the event an athlete presented any signs or symptoms that warranted it.
Manassas Park High School athletic trainer Erica Dunkelberger
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? The biggest challenge this year for me personally was balance. It was very much a juggling act as I have two job roles (teacher and athletic trainer) that required me to learn new ways to do what I have perfected over the past 17 years.
As a certified athletic trainer who had every sports season start date and routine down to a science, it was back to the drawing board when the VHSL announced that the seasons were pushed back and condensed. There were hours spent working with administration and my athletic director on our athletic health plan, educating our coaches, communicating to our athletes the mitigation expectations and then implementing it all on top of all the changes to caring for athletes in this new pandemic environment.
In addition to being an athletic trainer, I also teach the Sports Medicine courses at the high school. I had to learn new tools to teach in a virtual setting and plan to turn a typical “heavy laden hands-on” course in to a virtual one. It was like being a first-year athletic trainer and teacher all over again. When I wasn’t working on those two roles, I was just Mom helping my own two elementary kids navigate virtual learning and the pandemic with missing friends and family.
I handled it as best as I could, accepted help when offered, laughed or cried with those who understood and kept faith that one day this too shall pass.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? This experience has definitely made me appreciate slowing down. I’ve always been a go, go, go, live life to fullest person and certainly there is nothing wrong in that thinking. But I really did enjoy slowing down a bit. I actually gave yoga another go and actually liked it.
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? The lesson I have taken from this experience this year is I never desire to go through a pandemic again! Appreciate the little things.
• What are you most grateful for? I’m most grateful for my own family and my Manassas Park family. This year there really was no line between work and home. My husband and kids stepped up in more ways than one can imagine, packing me lunch, leaving me my favorite snack when I got home late or just a sweet note.
My Manassas Park Family especially Principal Kalso and activities director Dan Forgas supported me throughout all the craziness a pandemic can bring for this athletic trainer/Sports Med teacher finishing up one final year! My Sports Med students and the joy of play on Cougar athletes faces made everything worth it!
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenges? My faith played a strong role in helping me to deal with many of the challenges this year. Some days and weeks were not easy but I know that my faith and those God provided in my path helped me get through those tough days.
CHRISTI NELSON
Battlefield High School athletic trainer
• What do you think worked and why? I think having the county committed to bringing back athletics, regardless of all the regulations, worked to provide some hope for our kids. The athletic trainers, activities directors and coaches who were committed to following all the guidelines also worked to allow for us to have as normal a season as possible, with as little time missed as possible.
• And what did not work and why? Honestly, it was next to impossible trying to enforce all the rules and regulations with both athletes and coaches. The biggest problem was there was really no consequence for not following guidelines. It was a constant battle for some of us trying to make sure everyone was doing everything they were supposed to.
• Biggest challenge or challenges you faced and how did you handle them? I think one of the biggest challenges was trying to make sure we all followed the guidelines put in place while still trying to be understanding and forgiving when issues arose.
It was also difficult to focus on taking care of my athletes’ regular needs while dealing with the many COVID related issues. As athletic trainers, we already spend 40-50 hours a week dealing with the ‘normal’ stuff, and then you add the COVID related duties on top of that and it makes for some really long days, weeks and months.
• How did this experience change you and in what way or ways? I think this last year pushed me to discover new ways of being an athletic trainer. I have always considered myself to be good at my job, but this year I learned to be even better. Multitasking, while already one of my strengths, became even more necessary. And while I have always thought myself to be an efficient communicator, this year has forced me to have much better communication with my activities director, coaches, parents and athletes.
Battlefield’s Christi Nelson
• What’s the biggest lesson or lessons you’ve taken from this experience? My biggest lesson has probably been that I have to learn to let go of things that are out of my control. I love my job and I love my athletes. One of my biggest passions in life is taking care of these kids. This year I had to do my best, and then pray for the best. This is true not only in the job, but in life.
• What are you most grateful for? I am most grateful for my faith. In the moments of immense stress and struggle during the past year, it’s the primary reason I managed to keep moving forward. I am also grateful for the people I work with, and I am so very glad to be back and moving towards a more normal time coming soon.
• What helped you the most deal with all the challenges? I refer back to the statement about my faith in the previous question. However, I will also say that I am so very blessed to work with Jason Koch, my director of student activities. He and I have always had a good working relationship, but this year especially he has been my rock at work.
Whether I needed help with something or just needed to vent frustrations he was always there. And he always had my back, 100% supporting me. I also have some amazing coaches who struggled right along with me in trying to make sure these kids got an athletics season this year. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through this with anyone else.