This year, many student athletes at Miami Palmetto Senior High School have switched to My School Online to avoid a possible quarantine due to COVID-19 cases throughout their season. If quarantined, athletes cannot participate in games. 

“You would miss out on potentially games, practices [and] team meetings,” Palmetto sophomore and lacrosse player Jonas Keusch said.

The beginning of 2020, when the pandemic came in full affect, all schools had to cancel athletic activity. They feared that the cases would rise if sports teams continued playing. Teams became eager to return to play this year, even if there were some accommodations for COVID-19. 

As these teams commence their season, athletes have to decide whether they want to stay in physical school or switch to MSO. The issue did not matter to students who had already chosen to learn from home, but it mattered to physical students since it could affect them academically. This led to some student athletes choosing to remain in person.

“I learn better in person,” Palmetto sophomore and girl’s basketball center Zaria Wright said. “Online is just a lot harder for me to focus because there are so many distractions at home.”

If students chose to stay in person, they had a chance of getting quarantined. This would make them unable to attend necessary practices and games. Due to this, athletes had a choice to make before the season commenced. For students, this became a big decision to make since this affects both their personal lives and their teams.

“Given the situation with lacrosse, I want to move to MSO so I won’t miss time,” Keusch said. 

Those who decided to switch to virtual have less in-class contact with their teachers and peers. This creates a big change since many students have switched to physical school as of October. From the perspective of an athlete, one of the most disappointing parts about not going to physical school is not seeing their friends.

Even with all the troubles that have come with this year due to the pandemic, athletes still keep a positive attitude and mindset for their up and coming games. They put forth maximum effort and dedication to reach their goals for this season. 

“I’m most excited for playoffs…  because I’ll be back with my team and I feel like we can win [it] again,” Wright said. 

Making the choice between staying physically in school or switching to MSO is a hard decision for athletes to make. In the end though, they choose what best suits them in their life and what accommodates their schedules.