Questions remain on the return of high school sports in Stanislaus County
With a little over two months before the start of the high school sports season in Stanislaus County, questions remain whether games will be played amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It doesn’t feel like 100% of our schools will have sports in January,” said Will DeBoard, the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section assistant commissioner.
Indeed, high school athletes in the Modesto area are conditioning with the mindset that official practice for the fall season will start as scheduled in early- to mid-December, with competition starting a few weeks later.
In other states where high school sports are being played, results have been mixed.
DeBoard said “85% of (football) games” are being played as scheduled, according to what he hears on monthly Zoom calls with media relations staff from other state associations.
“Idaho is a pretty good example of what we are doing,” DeBoard said. “They are letting counties make the call (on decision for high school sports to play).”
Idaho Statesman sports reporter Michael Lycklama said there’s only been a “handful” of postponed or canceled games due to the coronavirus. One girls volleyball team had to cancel its season due to three players testing positive. The team was undefeated and headed for postseason. The upcoming district title game is scheduled a day before their players would return from a 14-day quarantine.
“We didn’t have any scares, with no one being sick and no symptoms,” Columbia coach Cathy Curtis told the Idaho Statesman. “Then it’s, wham, bam. Thank you, ma’am.”
Despite the high percentage of football games being played, there have been struggles.
Orem High, Utah’s defending 5A champions, hasn’t played since Sept. 11 due to cancellations from coronavirus outbreaks, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
In the Dallas area, 20 football games were canceled or postponed last week, mostly due to COVID-19, according to The Dallas Morning News. That made 43 cancellations in two weeks.
Area coaches preparing for uncertainty
Sac-Joaquin Section fall sports teams are in their offseason phases until Dec. 7, when football and cross county have their first official practices with volleyball and water polo starting the following week.
Due to local and state health guidelines, teams aren’t supposed to be doing much beyond conditioning. However, there have been several reports of some teams ignoring guidelines on social distancing and the use of face coverings, along with participating in scrimmages or drills using balls.
There have been no reports of enforcement in the Modesto area, but it has occurred elsewhere.
Bishop Alemany High School in San Fernando Valley had to suspend workouts for three weeks after an unauthorized linemen clinic was held, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gregori football coach Lamar Wallace said the team is following the phase guidelines from NFHS and the team expects to be in phase one until Dec. 7.
Among the guidelines: “All athletic equipment, including balls, should be cleaned after each use and prior to the next workout” and “A football player should not participate in team drills with a single ball that will be handed off or passed to other teammates. Contact with other players is not allowed, and there should be no sharing of tackling dummies/donuts/sleds.o A volleyball player should not use a single ball.”
The phases are being used by Modesto City Schools.
“We aren’t using balls or equipment but it’s nice to see the guys in person after so long of a time off,” Wallace said.
Johansen water polo coach Brent Bohlender said kids are conditioning by swimming one per lane and one hour per practice. He’s planning for a season with tournaments such as Western States, but also a lot of unknowns.
“It’s a wait and see and I’ll believe it when I see it,” Bohlender said. “What happens if the county positivity rates go up, can we only play county teams? We have 12 or 13 teams in the county so do we have a county competition? What if we can’t play teams outside of the city?”
Turlock cross country coach JoAnn Davison said her athletes are training on their own, just like they normally do in the summer non-competition period. The team meets during its distance-learning class period and works on strength and injury prevention.
Kids back on campus will be key
One other notable question – Can athletes compete if they aren’t back on campus for school?
According to a CIF spokesman, that decision is determined by schools and districts and state and county health officials.
“Given that we are eight-plus weeks from the official start date, we are still in the planning process should athletics be able to move forward as scheduled,” said Becky Fortuna, public information officer for Modesto City Schools. “How the start of athletics may be impacted by whether or not students are on campus is yet to be determined.”
DeBoard said “a majority” of school districts want to be back in school before they have sports competitions.
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
