Not just football
Athletics, basketball and netball coaches weigh in on ISSA cancellation
WHILE MOST of the attention relating to ISSA’s cancellation of high school sports for the September-to-December term has been given to schoolboy footballers and competitions, sports such as basketball, netball and even track and field, which usually start in January, have also been severely affected said some coaches.
The cancellation of high schools sports for the first of three school terms has devastated the aspirations of many final-year student-athletes, who harbour hopes of scholarships said Ardenne High School’s basketball coach Basil Barrett and The Queen’s School’s netball coach Marvette Anderson.
“It has affected basketball greatly. With no playing of the competition, youngsters in their final year looking to go to universities, this will really affect them badly. It has also affected the coaches like me that depend solely on basketball for a salary,” Barrett said.
Anderson also thinks scholarship opportunities for netball girls could be vastly reduced as scouts will not have the chance to see players in competition.
“You get a scholarship based on what you do, so the fact that the sport is not being played, persons are going to be sceptical about giving out scholarships. So we hope things turn around for the best and the young ladies will be able to take up any opportunities available to them,” said Anderson.
HEALTH COMES FIRST
She added that the cancellation wasn’t a surprise and contends that it is important that all stakeholders exercise patience and put the health of everyone first.
“The most important thing is the protection of everybody. So the cancellation does not disappoint me. As long as the world is around, netball will be around. We will have netball in the future, but for the time being, it is important we protect everybody,” she added.
Nevertheless, Barrett believes basketball is one of the sports that will be sacrificed if ISSA reschedule these competitions to next term.
“Everything would be jumbled. I don’t think ISSA could handle all of these sports one time. They will have to go ahead without some of the sports and we know when it comes to ISSA, football and track and field are the prime sports. So basketball will get a beating,” he argued.
Meanwhile, Edwin Allen’s female track and field coach Michael Dyke says the uncertainty caused by the pandemic will delay preparations. Dyke pointed that with school not due to start until October, it will push back the customary start to training in early September by at least a month. He also believes it will be difficult for teams with a large contingent, like Edwin Allen, to manage coronavirus safety protocols and guidelines when training resumes.
“We normally start preparation the first or second week in September, now this means a month or more setback. So coaches will have to be more careful in their execution of training as it (delay) will be a challenge. The protocols that exist, we will have to follow, but it will require a lot of assistance to cover such a large group. We will have to divide everyone into smaller groups, which will require more time and resources. So it will be a real challenge, but we are up to the task if that is what is required,” Dyke said.