Collin Mitchell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe for AZPreps365.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world over the past year. This wasn’t any different for the Mountain Pointe boys basketball team, which has dealt with hurdles along the road of the 2021 season.

With the spring 2021 season originally cancelled by the Arizona Interscholastic Association's Executive Board, reinstatement came soon after. So did a bundle of safety precautions enforced to maximize the protection of all athletes.

All coaches, players, and officials are required to wear a face covering before, during, and after games, and each athlete is permitted just two tickets per home game. On the road, tickets are given to the away teams for parents only if allowed by the school and county guidelines.

The Pride have had good fortune thus far in keeping COVID-19 away, but it hasn’t come without a cost.

“We’ve had to keep varsity separate from other levels all year,” said head coach Kaimarr Price. “Times like these where we are down to eight players at a practice, it’s tough when we aren’t able to bring up any JV or freshmen to help out.”

Mountain Pointe has been successful up to this point in dealing with limited help, hoisting a 11-4 record (6-2 in the 6A Central division) with three of its four losses coming by a total of 12 points combined. The Pride are in third place in the Arizona 6A Central standings.

“I think our hardest challenge has been the whole COVID structure,” said Jason Kimbrough Jr., senior point guard and team captain. “It’s tough with me and [Zereoue Williams], along with the rest of the seniors not getting to be able to play in front of our parents every night.”

Still, the team understands why the AIA is enforcing such strict protocols.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic,” said Price. “If one person passes away from this because of sports, it’s too much. In order to prevent that, I understood all the protocols set in place.”

With players not always socially distanced on the court, wearing masks at all times has been essential in the prevention of spreading the virus during the season.

“It’s been a struggle trying to keep our masks on. Sometimes when we are running down the court the mask will fall under our nose,” said Mountain Pointe shooting guard Tanner Pate. “We’re also on the road playing other teams so when we have four games in a week, we have to hope none of them get cancelled.”

On March 2, the AIA announced that athletes won’t need to wear face coverings while competing in the postseason. If the athlete is not actively competing, they will need to wear a facial covering.

Mountain Pointe has had just one game cancelled this season, which was due to a positive test within another program.

With two games left in the season before the playoffs start, the Pride are optimistic in finishing the season with no more cancellations.

Mountain Pointe will seek revenge Friday night in its final regular season game on senior night, hosting Desert Ridge (10-6), who handed the Pride a loss earlier in the season.