With both the fall and winter sports seasons postponed, CESJDS is offering an array of different athletic programs to keep students active and ready to return to competitive sports when that happens.

During the summer, the PVAC announced that it would postpone all of its competitive sports seasons to the spring. In the spring, the plan is to have three 8-week abridged seasons, allowing for every sport to run, rather than only having spring sports this year.

Despite the official fall season being canceled, Director of Athletics Becky Silberman thought it was important to figure out a way to safely allow students to come into school and participate in in-person activities. This is both to help athletes stay in shape as well as give students the opportunity to leave their houses and have some social interaction after school.

“One of the big concerns with this break is that there is going to be a lot of injuries when people get back, but the fact that we are able to get people active before the season starts is good,” Silberman said.

In an email sent out on Aug. 12, Silberman outlined the plans for the fall and the different activities that JDS would be offering, which include both in-person and online opportunities. The virtual offerings consist of online fitness and yoga. One of these occurs every day to ensure that everyone can participate in an activity even if they aren’t able to attend the in-person activities.

There are two different categories of on-site programs: drop in programs and programs requiring registration. The drop in offerings are not targeted at a specific sport and do not require sign ups. These programs include strength training and walk/run club.

For the programs that require registration, students must fill out a form indicating the specific sport they are interested in. Pre-registration is necessary in order to limit the number of participants per sport due to the fields/court sizes. These limitations are due to social distancing. These offerings include: basketball, baseball, volleyball, girls soccer, boys soccer, girls tennis and cross country.

Junior Zoe Fischman is excited about this programming because it means that she is able to participate in sports that are typically not offered during the fall.

“I’m glad to have the opportunity to play with my friends and get a dose of basketball in the fall, which is not something I am used to,” Fischman said. “I think this could ultimately help us improve for a potential season in the spring.”

The athletics department will be taking many precautions to ensure that the programming runs safely. There will be daily on- site health screenings and social distancing norms will be followed at all times. In addition, masks will be required for the majority of the activities.