With winter sports set to start soon, it’s a good time to look ahead to spring sports and their schedules. There has been a great emphasis put on not shortening the season for spring sports, as they were unable to have a season last year. However, with the late start of winter sports, spring sports have been forced to start later. Luckily, the end dates of these sports have also been pushed back.

Spring sports sanctioned by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) include baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, track, boys tennis, and boys volleyball. JCHS participates in all spring sports except for boys volleyball. In the past, these sports have all started within the first week of March. They were originally scheduled to do so this year, but due to COVID-19 and the delayment of winter sports, a majority of these sports begin on Thursday, April 1.

However, there are exceptions to this April 1st start date. Boys tennis is set to start on March 26th. For baseball and softball, pitchers and catchers are able to begin practice as well, though the rest of the team cannot begin practice until April 1st. 

For competitions, all sports can begin competing on April 19th and must end by June 20th. Golf is the only exception to this, as its matches can begin on April 9th. Tournament competition will run from June 1st to June 20th for baseball, softball, lacrosse, track, and volleyball. The tournament dates for boys tennis and golf have not yet been determined. 

While there will be an overlap with winter sports, the NJSIAA did their best to eliminate any conflicts for athletes and coaches that coach both a winter and spring sport. Some winter sports end on or before March 6th, while others run through March and into April. Swimming and winter track will run through March 27th while wrestling, girls volleyball, and gymnastics will run through April 24th.

Hopefully all spring athletes will be able to compete in a sport they were unable to last year. As of right now, it looks like spring athletes will be given the season they deserve and it will not be cut short.