With the pandemic, it has been very difficult for students to partake in sports, especially those initiated by Ramaz. Ms. Cohen, the Head of Ramaz Athletics, has been very active in scheduling sports practices for students over the weekends. Recently, the athletic program expanded so that students can play sports in school every day of the week. In other words, the Ramaz Athletic programs are back! 

Throughout the first semester, every Sunday workouts were available to all students to come and get their fair share of exercise for the week. These workouts included basketball, baseball, and soccer for both boys and girls. They also held boys’ hockey workouts. 

There is a difference between the sports teams last year and the “teams” this year. Since this year is filled with uncertainties and teams are not participating in a competition season anyway, anyone is allowed to join a team. There will be no tryouts for sports and no concrete commitments for showing up to practices, but it would be ideal for coaches to count on players to be there routinely. The only team that requires tryouts is the senior boys basketball. Ms. Cohen made this exception in the hope that the senior team will participate in a tournament in May, as a ‘last goodbye’ to Ramaz athletics. This is also the only team that will require commitment because they will be practicing for the tournament and need to count on every player. As for the rest of the sports, Ms. Cohen doesn’t see any games against other schools happening anytime soon. Ms. Cohen is happy that she can provide Ramaz students with a forum to exercise because most people don’t have exercising time built into their daily schedule. She said, “it’s amazing news to have such a difference from where we were at the beginning of the year. Thank god we’re on the track to getting back to normal.” Only the freshmen have gym in their schedules, and even then, she still thinks it’s extremely important for teenagers to be as active as possible. More than just walking up the Ramaz staircases!

Scott Ferguson – a coach from Long Island – is the new basketball coach and Mr. Letourneau will be taking the lead on soccer teams. Mr. Letourneau has a background in soccer, as he played Division I soccer in college for the Colgate Raiders. 

Masks will be required at all times during practices. Since grades will be practicing separately, equipment will be wiped down during shifts of grades to ensure there is no cross-contamination between cohorts. Locker rooms will also be kept safe by separating grades. Pre-pandemic, teams were composed of students from all grades and this served as a bonding experience for teams to build a strong relationship with their teammates, regardless of their ages. 

Thankfully, another sector of school life has returned. The return of Ramaz athletics will keep students active and opens another outlet to utilize during the pandemic.