text: Matt Logan celebrates a touchdown in the Hawks’ win in their opening game of the season versus McCluer North.
  Kennedy Moore, Writer
  April 7, 2021
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  Hazelwood Central High School there are a lot of students who enjoy extracurricular activities. Before the Coronavirus outbreak, students were involved in many sports, such as football and basketball. The pandemic caused caused many changes in an athlete’s life due to the fact that all sports were canceled until further notice and students were moved to virtual learning.
  Now, student athletes who were stuck at home for months are coming back to school-and to the field to compete.
  Virtual learning can be overwhelming since students are so used to in-person learning. This has a big impact on athletes because their lifestyle has changed a lot. Jeremiah Scott who is a junior at Hazelwood Central High school has been playing football for 5 years.
  “This makes me more anxious and irritated knowing that It’s impossible to be out on the field right now,” said Scott
  Dominique Fulton, and Jesse Johnson are both sophomores at Central High and both agreed that this pandemic has changed their lifestyle. They were both so used to going to school for their learning then staying after for practice and being able to grow a closer bond with their teammates. The feeling of knowing that you are more than just a team and having so much adrenaline to score points is the best part about sports
  Sports give you a big advantage later in life.
  “Being a part of a team teaches you teamwork and growing as a person,” Jeremiah stated. Growing up now sports can play a big role in your life since its a great way of keeping kids out of drama.
  “it’s a good exercise to stay in shape,” said Fulton.
  This is very true because not every child is motivated to actually workout in a gym. Playing sports will put you in shape without always having to lift weights.
  While sports does have its good and bad, as an Athlete it’s very hard to stay active when you have to stay home. Being at home the only exercise for many is dumbbell workouts. Changes are being made now that schools are trying to bring students back to in person learning.
  Most kids are involved in sports for enjoyment. Others don’t have a happy home and need an escape or some just want to be active outside their personal life. Bringing back sports allows so much positivity into their life. If they are seriously dedicated to playing sports then they will have an advantage of bringing up their grades. In order to stay on the team no athlete can have below a 70%.
  Although the weather has not been perfect. It’s been cold with a lot of snow and Ice. It’s hard for the players to workout because in order for them to get into shape they need to do a lot of cardio and weight lifting. The school weight room is open to students who currently play but there’s a number limit.
  Jamarion Price is the running back for Hazelwood Central Football Team. He stays motivated by “Buford Mentality.”