Soccer season is just days away and the players and the coaches at Skyline College are more excited than ever for the games to begin. For many athletes that have been at Skyline for three years, they have only played one season due to last year’s cancellation due to COVID-19.

“We’re really excited, I can’t remember being so excited for a season in the past,” said Gabriel Saucedo, head coach of Skyline men’s soccer team. “It’s been a while since I coached a game. I know the coaches and players are pumped up.”

Just like Saucedo’s team, Kevin Corsiglia, head coach of Skyline women’s soccer team, rated their excitement and enthusiasm level very high.

“We’re definitely up there in the 9 to 10 range, we’re all excited to go out there,” Corsiglia said. “It’s been a long time. It’s not quite how the players that came to Skyline to play soccer –– or to participate in any other sport –– expected. This is not what they signed up for, they envisioned coming here out of high school and being able to compete and have a normal athletic experience and that hasn’t been the case.”

The start of the season couldn’t have been here without the help of the coaching staff. They have done plenty of work on and off the field by making sure the players are healthy, getting tested regularly, and encouraging the players to get vaccinated once the shot was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The pandemic is still bringing trouble to the players, as some come on campus for classes and others stay at home and work virtually. This goes the same for student-athletes that have jobs outside of school. These are some obstacles that the team will have to overcome as the season gets underway.

Corsiglia described that as the protocols began to loosen, it became easier for the players to get a better playing experience so everyone can be “more together” and don’t have to deal with the separation of any sort.

“We did as much as we could in the protocols we had; when they got loose, we began to train outside in bigger numbers, not in pods anymore,” Corsiglia said. “In the spring, our pods couldn’t be big; we only could train a certain number of players so after the restrictions got lifted and the vaccines got approved, we started doing more things and started to think about playing teams from different schools.”

Saucedo hopes that the soccer program is relatively close to having a full and successful season with the help of the coaching staff.

“Yes, we’re right there,” Saucedo said. “We are really close. We have a good group of guys that all play really hard and are excited to play. We have an awesome administration, our dean, and our athletic director – Joe Morello –– has done a great job getting us ready and doing all of the behind-the-scenes work to get our season going, our athletic trainers are doing an awesome job getting our guys prepared. We are right there and ready to go, and we have our first game coming up.”

As the pandemic continues to spread across the Bay Area, the question that remains on everyone’s mind continues to be if fans will be allowed to watch Skyline Athletics in-person last season. Last year, the sports that were played competed in empty stadiums.

“Right now I don’t think so and that’s not a school decision, that’s a San Mateo County decision,” Corsiglia said. “Most of these decisions are made at the county level.”

As far as right now, spectators will not be able to attend games. As soon as the county gives a green light, Skyline fans and family will once again be allowed to enjoy watching their soccer team play.

The men’s soccer season is set to kick off their 2021 season against Mendocino on Friday, September 10 and the women’s side starts against Ohlone Friday, September 17.