The recent fall sports guidelines established by the MIAA gives athletes a chance to start their seasons on Sept. 18. But, as with all things during the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing will define the coming months for student athletes: uncertainty.

Though the MIAA approved and ratified the recommendations of its COVID-19 Task Force at a virtual meeting last week, there are still steps that need to be taken before the season can start.

Golf, field hockey and cross country were approved for play this fall by Franklin County athletic directors earlier this week, leaving girls volleyball, football and soccer left to play in the special “fall II” season created by the MIAA for Feb. through April. Most districts still require approval from their respective school committees before play can begin, and the MIAA just released necessary modifications for each sport on Friday.

“I’m really not sure what to expect this season,” said Cambrie Hamilton, an incoming senior for the Frontier Regional School girls soccer team. “Obviously things will be very different than what we’re used to. I know our team has been trying to stay optimistic about everything but it can be hard when everything still feels so unsure.”

Olivia Deane, Reilly Isler, Abbe Roberts and Olivia Rosewarne are all incoming seniors for the Frontier volleyball team. Though they’re unsure of what’s to come, they found that the summer has been a great tool to be ready the challenges ahead.

They also found quite a few challenges in training alone rather than with their team.

“Between captains practices, offseason clinics and our summer league tournaments, most of us are used to having volleyball together every summer since middle school,” Isler said. “So it’s definitely different to be doing stuff by ourselves.”

Recently, they’ve been able to begin captains practices and four-on-four matches Wednesday nights during informal summer league action.

“It’s interesting to see how much team-building is made in the summer,” Isler said. “I’ve noticed in our captains practices how much of that team-building we’ve already missed up to this point.”

Keeping spirits up with an uncertain future has already been a factor, though.

“We’ve definitely had to self-motivate, not knowing that there’s going to be a tournament, or a state championship to be looking forward to,” Rosewarne said.

Getting the full roster together has been a challenge for some teams. Alyson Barnes and Amelia Sobieski are incoming seniors for the Frontier field hockey team, which, unlike soccer and volleyball, looks on track to play games this fall. Their summer has consisted of individual routines and a summer league in South Hadley, but not everyone is in a position to play safely depending on their household situation.

“With some girls, they don’t feel safe to come (to summer league games) because of the risk of spreading the virus,” Sobieski said. “Specifically people who have someone in their household who is at high-risk for COVID or works in a high-risk environment like a hospital. So, some people haven’t been able to practice even if they wanted to, which has been hard.”

Molly Menard, an incoming senior for the South Hadley field hockey team, is one of the players who has been training at home.

“For me, training has all been at home so far this year due to me being at work for the majority of the summer,” Menard said. “Because I work and come into contact with many people in one day, I made the decision to work out and prepare for the season at home to keep my team and coaches safe. It has been hard adjusting and not being in a team environment has been difficult but it’s good that the team is able to make it work and has been very good at being flexible.”

For those who are able to play in the summer league, strict precautions have been enforced to keep the players, coaches and officials safe.

“The 7 v 7 league on Wednesday nights has changed the most,” South Hadley incoming senior Maddie Foley said. “There are no spectators allowed, we have to wear masks at all times, we have to sanitize our hands and check in every time we go onto the field and the goals and balls are sanitized in between games.”

Other structural changes to the game include no corners, as set pieces closely bunch players together during play. Any call that would normally award a penalty corner now awards a long hit.

Though athletes are continuing to adjust to some of the larger restrictions and changes around their sport, the more subtle changes will also take some getting used to.

“Not being able to do small things like huddle up and give high-fives after every point is going to be a really weird thing to get used to,” Isler said.

Added Sobieski, “That feeling of knowing that other people are gonna have your back if something goes wrong — it’s just a completely different connection knowing that you can’t huddle up and figure something out.”

As athletes look ahead to the fall season, being able to play the sport they love with their teammates is a top priority. While they’re looking forward to possible competition, the uncertainty of the coming months makes actual games a secondary concern.

“I think a while ago we all kind of accepted that this wasn’t going to be a normal season, and that was really hard for us, especially going into our senior year,” Roberts said. “But being able to play together, and seeing our potential just from the glimpses of us together this summer — it’s made us all really excited just to play on the court together.”

Added Deane, “We’re all so hyped based on what we’ve seen so far. I really hope we get to see that in some capacity on the court, even if that’s just practice.”

Barnes echoed their sentiments, emphasizing that practice is better than having no team interaction at all.

“I think what’s most important for the whole team, especially the seniors, is to have an opportunity to play,” Barnes said. “If that means just practicing, then I think we should be grateful for that. The best case scenario is being able to play, compete and get to the postseason, and we can have hopes for that, but realistically we have to look at things one step at a time.”