SIDELINED 2020
Senior pushes through challenges as she waits for sports return
By COREY KIRK
EO Media Group
M
ILTON-FREEWATER — Very rarely
do you see a student-athlete go to
two different practices in the span of
one day. However, McLoughlin High
School senior Daniela Angel goes from cheer
practice to one of her three other sports rou-
tinely. After playing soccer in the fall and bas-
ketball in the winter, Angel was on pace to
fulfill her goal for tennis — making it to the
regional tournament. Those plans all changed
when COVID-19 put all spring sports on hold.
“It kind of sucks that I couldn’t play any-
more; my plan was to go further this year,”
Angel said.
A member of a local AAU basketball team,
Angel also felt the effect away from school
when all that was scheduled was canceled for
that sport as well.
“I’m trying to play college basketball. This
season was very important for me to have. I
really needed it,” Angel said.
Although both those sports abruptly ended
for her due to this pandemic, Angel looked
to remain proactive. She took it upon her-
self while at home to stay in shape during the
spring. She quickly realized that the
biggest hurdle of training alone was
maintaining accountability.
“During this whole quaran-
tine I would practice on my own
as much as I could,” Angel said.
“It sucked because you don’t
have your coach pushing you. I
always need someone to push me
because I can get unmotivated really
easily. I had to push through that.”
A big component of her training was car-
dio, which Angel was able to accomplish
going on runs with her mom.
“Every morning I would wake up and
go with my mom and do a run,” Angel said.
“Sometimes I would do a mile, sometimes I
would do three miles and sometimes I would
do short sprints.”
Midway through the summer, Angel was
able to return to McLoughlin to train with her
teammates in both soccer and basketball for a
couple of weeks. Angel was content to be back
with her team.
“It was really nice seeing all my
teammates. There were quite a bit of
girls that would show up, and that
made me really happy,” Angel
said.
Looking toward her senior
year, Angel realizes the changes
to her normal school routine
she will have to face. As the Ore-
gon School Activities Association
shuffled around the activities calendar,
Angel’s first organized sporting event would
be basketball toward the end of December,
and she won’t be back on the soccer field until
around March. She is going to take the first
few months of this school year as an opportu-
nity to be ready more than ever.
“If you look at the bright side it’s actually
cool that we have more time,” Angel said.
“We have extra time to train. It’s actually kind
of an advantage.”
The schedule changes present new prob-
lems to some student-athletes, but not Angel.
She encourages her fellow student-athletes to
prioritize time management not just on but off
the field.
“Keep your grades up and use your class
time wisely,” Angel said.
If everything is looking safe enough for
sports to return, Angel would be surprised but
would be ready to go back to partaking in all
of her sports.
“I’d be very excited to go back,” Angel said.
However, if this pandemic ends up finish-
ing her high school sports career prematurely,
Angel would be devastated.
“I would be really upset. I didn’t get to even
play one last time,” Angel said. “The last time
I played, I didn’t even know it was my last
time.”
After she graduates this school year, Angel
aspires to continue her career in basketball at
any level of college. She is looking forward to
studying to become a registered nurse.
Castillo looks forward to enjoying moments on the field again
By COREY KIRK
EO Media Group
M
ILTON-FREEWATER — Whether he
is dribbling a ball with his feet or with
his hands or found pacing himself on
the track, McLoughlin High School
senior Hector Castillo enjoys every moment he
can be involved in some of the sports he loves.
In the midst of his junior year, though, Cas-
tillo felt like he was buckled into a rollercoaster.
“It would have probably been like a ride,
because of what happened and everything,”
Castillo said. “Just up and downs with school
and all that.”
After playing soccer last fall and basketball
during the winter, Castillo was really look-
ing forward to competing in track and field
events for the first time this coming spring.
However, those plans were officially derailed
when schools were forced to go virtual and
spring sports were officially canceled due to
COVID-19.
“It was going to be my first year doing track;
I was sad I wasn’t able to do it,” Castillo said.
“This was the year I wanted to. This is a step
back to my senior year to compete in track.”
As the remaining months of school hap-
pened in front of a computer, stu-
dent-athletes like Castillo had to
hold themselves accountable by
training on their own. Castillo
was up for the challenge.
“It just had to be me tak-
ing time out of my day to lift
weights, go running and do
some drills with the ball,” Cas-
tillo said.
Throughout the summer, Castillo
was able to rejoin a lot of his soccer teammates
over the summer and practice with his basket-
ball teammates, and Castillo was excited to get
back into a somewhat regular routine.
“It just brought joy being back on the field
and on the court with the people I like to play
with, playing the sports that I enjoy playing,”
Castillo said.
Now with the Oregon School Athletics
6 • S E P T. 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 • E O M E D I A G R O U P
Association moving the fall sports season,
including soccer, to 2021, the first sport that
Castillo will possibly be able to play will be
basketball at the end of December. With the
season just a few months away, Castillo
definitely is fearful that may not be
enough time for it to become safe
again.
“It scares me because obvi-
ously it’s my last year. I didn’t
get to play my junior year,” Cas-
tillo said. “It will probably be the
last year playing basketball in my
career in sports.”
Though Castillo will now be playing
soccer in March rather than October, he doesn’t
feel like the schedule change will make a big
difference in his approach to his gameplay. He
is accustomed to playing soccer during this
time thanks to outside leagues he plays in.
“I play in the league at that time to get ready
for October, so it will just kind of be the same,”
Castillo said.
Castillo remains motivated that he will play
sports once again, and to accomplish the ulti-
mate feat of gaining some more hardware for
the trophy case.
“I’m trying to go out the best I can, I’m
just trying to bring a state championship to
Mac-Hi,” Castilo said.
Reflecting back on the last several months,
Castillo was able to learn a whole lot about
himself throughout this pandemic. What he
was able to realize is how he shouldn’t ever
take opportunities for granted.
“Just with the pandemic, things can just
get taken away, right away,” Castillo said. “So
enjoy the moments you have, and be more
grateful about the opportunities and the things
you have in life.”
If sports never occur during his senior year,
Castillo intends to continue to train for the pos-
sibility of playing on the collegiate level, and to
later on in life come back to the game of soc-
cer to coach.
“I’ve been thinking about coaching when
I can, just come back home maybe and coach
here,” Castillo said.