Governor Gavin Newsom announced new thresholds that counties have to meet in order to resume outdoor youth sports Feb. 19. According to the new guidelines, schools can resume outdoor sports once COVID-19 infection rates fall below 14 cases per 100,000 people. 27 counties in California have already met this standard, and 16 more —including Los Angeles County— have rates between 16 to 20, meaning that they could soon become eligible, per abc7.com. 

Quarterback Marshall Howe ’21 said he is anxious to get back on the field and is optimistic that the county will meet the required case rate in the near future. 

“I couldn’t be more excited about the announcement that was made on Friday,” Howe said. “We still have to get the case rate below 14 which I think is pretty reasonable and will happen soon, but this is a huge step in the right direction towards rewarding student-athletes like myself who have patiently waited for about a year to be able to play their sport.”

In anticipation of this announcement, Howe has remained ready throughout the hiatus by continuing to work out on his own and by remaining close to his teammates. 

“As a team and a group of individuals, we’ve worked incredibly hard to stay in shape even when having a season looked impossible, so I’m incredibly happy that we’ll have a chance to finally play,” Howe said.