Spring high school sports in Minnesota have officially been canceled. For Holy Family, that means no baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, trap shooting, fishing, golf, and boys tennis. In a press release by Governor Tim Walz last week, he said that spring sports “are unlikely”, and that became true as Walz gave the order of no school (including sports) for the rest of this school year. “My heart is really heavy today with this announcement because of how badly children want to connect with their friends and their educators in their school settings,” said Department of Education commissioner Mary Ricker. “We want to support students and their families in a distance learning environment.”

For high school athletes, there are two goals: have fun, and get college scholarships. With everyone stuck at home, both are extremely hard. Scholarships are handed out to the elite athletic and academic students. As of now, academic scholarships are going on as usual, because students can do school from home. Sadly, they cannot play sports. Therefore, no college coaches can watch player play. Those who were hoping to raise their  recruiting stock in the spring have now been halted with the shutdown of athletics. “I was planning on visiting Idaho State before I make a decision,” said Kevin Armstead, a high school running back from Los Angeles . “I also like Nevada, too. I want to get a feel for the campus. I just don’t want to make a decision and not know if I’m comfortable because, at the end of the day, I have to live there for four years.” To solve this problem, virtual tours have been put on by colleges to show potential future students around.

With hope, the fall season will bring back school athletics and normalcy can return.