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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Reardan quarterback Mahkai Anderson snaps a short throw on one knee during throwing drills at practice Nov. 2.
Coalie Whitman hits the ball to a teammate during serving drills at practice Nov. 2.
Tayra Fourbear bumps the ball before running across the court at practice Nov. 2.
The Reardan offensive line readies their blocking position during drills Nov. 2.
Members of the Reardan girl's soccer team prepared the net, in hopes of fielding a team for the first time.
Elise Cox stretches while lunging during practice Nov. 2.
Jaylee Abrahamson goes to strike the ball during practice Nov. 2.
LINCOLN COUNTY – Davenport and Reardan student-athletes had to wait seven months until practices could resume in any fashion. Now, sports camps have been occurring since October, but these practices look far stranger than normal.
Throw that in with the fact that the athletes don't know when exactly they'll be able to play in a game, or what that game might look like, and the strange themes the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought become evident.
"We're trying to keep an optimistic attitude. For us, we're looking at it as a summer season," Davenport junior Kylee Buchanan said. Buchanan plays volleyball, basketball and softball. "It's tough not knowing if you're going to have a season or not, but I know all the athletes are excited to get into the gym, get out onto the field. It's kind of frustrating at times, not knowing, but for now we're taking it day by day."
Preparation has been key for athletes trying to stay motivated, despite the uncertainty of when and if a season will occur. The WIAA tentatively has a winter sports start date of Dec. 28, but it's still rather unclear what exactly competition may look like.
"Obviously, we want to compete, and we know there is chances of competing, so it's really making sure that we're prepared when the time does come," Davenport senior Brayden Duff, who runs cross country and track, said. "If it is a short season, we want to make sure we aren't behind on anything, we're still in shape and ready to go for those sports."
Reardan senior Mahkai Anderson, a football player, wrestler and track athlete, tried to stay prepared during the seven-month stretch from March to October when there were no school-organized games, meets or practices.
To stay motivated, really it's a lot of being on your own and being able to look at what's coming up if you have a chance, and being able to say, I've got to be ready for that, I can't just sit around all day," Anderson said. "Doing that is hard. It's not easy."
Duff also brought up the importance of offseason preparation, noting sports seasons will be shorter and teams that start slowly will be more disadvantaged than normal.
"It's definitely going to be a matter of who worked most in the offseason," Duff said.
Davenport senior Darby Soliday, who plays soccer and basketball and runs track, said this fall's practices have been particularly beneficial for team sports.
"With soccer, you can't really do anything by yourself. It's helpful to be getting this time right now to be a team and figure out what we play like and if we need to work on stuff," Soliday said. "For track and cross country, it's different because you can go do it yourself, but for soccer and basketball it doesn't really work like that."
Most athletes are simply relishing the opportunity to get out and be active, like Reardan senior Naomi Smith, who plays volleyball and basketball and runs track.
"Everyone just wants to be out and do something, so people have definitely been excited for it, they've been grateful," Smith said. "(Co-athletic director Brian) Graham actually told us that we might not have been able to do this because there was a bit of a spike a few weeks ago, and it really made people say let's go out and do this."
Soliday echoed similar sentiments of simply being happy to have some form of organized sports back in her life.
"Sports is a huge part of my life, so it's boring when I'm not doing sports," Soliday said. "It keeps my life interesting, I guess."
Anderson said despite the unknowns, athletes are trying to stay motivated and stay ready for whatever form competition takes this year.
"Being motivated right now, it's probably the hardest time to be motivated, because you don't know what's going to happen," Anderson said. "No one knows what's going to happen. All you know, is that you have a shot. You have to make that count."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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