The Meadowdale Mavericks, a school full of kids with grit and tenacity, are back at it again. COVID hit the Lynnwood/Edmonds area right before spring break leaving our family of mavericks only getting a small taste of spring sports. For our baseball team, this was a crushing blow because they were projected to have a great year, and with a few athletes already signed for and ready for Division I competition in the future they were all ready to crush their opponents. Not only our baseball team but the Meadowdale mavericks fan base was cut short, with our basketball team coming off their season being so close to the state championship, the students of Meadowdale were ready to come together we like to call it the Mav Mob. Last year our ASB made it their goal to create the toughest, the rowdiest, and the loudest fan section in WESCO. That dream came to life last year when we filled the gyms entire student section for our biggest basketball game of the year, Rubber Chicken a against our cross-town rivals Edmonds Woodway. 

Students and athletes alike have been missing our campus lately but as of January nineteenth, our district and school have put together our new outdoor conditioning program. This is for any one of our amazing students at Meadowdale to participate in. All that is needed for them is to fill out their regular sports paperwork and then fill out one more sheet explaining what sports you would like to participate in and the risks involved. Can't get much easier than that. With this just starting we have a total of twelve sports available to athletes to sign up for; those can include such activities such as golf, cross country, girls cheer and dance, girls swim, boys and girls basketball and we can't forget about our Meadowdale football players. Our mavericks are now out there working hard on and perfecting their craft safely and reasonably. Every student is required to wear a mask twenty-four-seven every time they enter our campus; students must also fill out a daily attestation form to prove that they are not showing any signs or symptoms or have been in contact with someone with COVID in the past two weeks.   

Even though this wasn't what our students here at Meadowdale were expecting for their 2020-21 school year we are still making it the best year we can. Our students were so ecstatic when hearing about our new conditioning program that it was hard to wait till they got to know what pod they were in. Our athletes are extremely fortunate enough to get to come to the school and workout two days a week, there are the same pods on Mondays and Wednesdays and the same pods on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each athlete is assigned a time to come with those times being 3:15-4:00 and 4:15-5:00. Conditioning for athletes as you can see has been timed out perfectly so that our athletes are safe and spread out, students are still able to go to class and office hours and also get their school work done before coming and attending their conditioning time. 

In the first week alone our turnout was astronomical, there were a total of 200 student-athletes at Meadowdale that came to participate and 700 students in our district wishing to come and practice; also, a total of 20 of the school's amazing staff and coaches came out to train their athletes. Of course, we couldn't have been able to pull this whole thing together if it wasn't for the hard work and the dedication of our school’s athletic director Mrs. Marriott. She has been working nonstop with the district to organize and place these athletes in a fun and safe environment. Even though this was a super stressful and hard task to put together our school was able to pull it off and the best part of it all was the feedback that has been flooding in all of which has been super positive and supportive towards our district, our staff in charge, and our program here at Meadowdale. Many of our students reached out to us and had comments such as “This has been such a great chance to see my fellow teammates but also have the opportunity to get outside and workout once again.” Another student stated that “With this being my last year here at MHS I’m super glad I’m out on the field, I feared it would never happen so it's just nice to see and train with people again.” Lastly coming one of our girls track athlete told us that “I think it's great and super beneficial to me, I'm able to get out and see others and it reminds me of being back at school once again even though I know it's not as it used to be.” Being able to hear great comments for students just makes our staff so happy and filled with joy, but our students are not the only ones who were energized and ready for the start of the outdoor conditioning our coaches were also super happy it's happening our volleyball coach told us that “It is so great to be able to work with the players face-to-face (or mask-to-mask) to both connect with them on a personal level and to get outside and moving, which is so important for our overall well being.”

As our sports seasons are right around the corner for our Meadowdale athletes and coaches are starting to find hope in the fact that sports will start up soon and our athletes will be ready for everything that comes their way. Meadowdale will continue to make this school year the best it can and this outdoor conditioning program will go down in history as the first time students came to school this year. Students can’t wait to get back into the classroom and back to school sports but for now, we will keep doing what we can and we will keep strong and create memorable moments here at Meadowdale.