First Day! 1/25/2021(5hrs)

First day of the internship is always a little nerve racking because you don’t know what to expect out the gate. Columbus City Schools were on shutdown for weeks due to COVID-19 concerns, and they finally decided to allow winter sports to participate starting today, Monday January 25th. My first day I did a lot of observing to get acclimated on how winter sports would look for all City Schools. At this time all over public in private schools were in the middle of their seasons. It was very different. Mario Bowles, Northland High School Athletic Director, made it easy and comfortable for me to adjust to everything that was going on. Other public and private schools outside of Columbus City were allowed to have limited fans. All Columbus City schools were not allowed to have fans in attendance. Attending a basketball game with no fans is a different experience I’ve been a part of. You see it on TV at the collegiate and professional level, and it doesn’t do it any justice by being there live. Observing all the actions that the Athletic Director does during pre-game and post-game is more than I ever imagined. By upholding Covid protocols, transportation, sanitation, communication with OHSAA for referee assignments, it’s a lot that goes into running the perfect operation for a successful event for the new season of basketball in the City. Northland Girls won by 87 against the Whetstone Braves.

Covid protocols were a big eye opener for me because all bench players had to wear masks at all times while all players on the floor didn’t have to. All players on the bench had to be six feet apart and all coaches had to be masked up as well. All personnel were required to wear masks including myself. All players had to bring their own water and weren’t allowed to share water bottles with their fellow teammates. It was a lot to learn.