Schools turn to ‘ buddy system’

Those with turf fields show willingness to share so all can play

At Lake George, cross country runners are bounding through the hallways and football players are running plays in the parking lot.

That’s because the cross country team’s course is still not passable, and the grass fields at the school aren’t usable, either.

Although Lake George is used to being creative when it comes to managing the unpredictable weather of a northern New York March, athletic director Kyle Manny said, “we’ve never done this before.”

“It’s been a creative endeavor of our coaches to get athletes conditioned and get practiced,” he added.

The Adirondack and Wasaren leagues didn’t compete in any sports last fall, so all their fall teams, including boys’ and girls’ soccer, field hockey and cross country, are competing during Fall Season II, which started March 7 and ends May 1. Football was moved to Fall II statewide.

When all those teams, plus

any volleyball squads, have to practice inside, it can be a challenge to find enough space while still following COVID-19 protocols that require space.

Kevin Collins, Greenwich’s athletic director, said that he’s been putting together a gym schedule that rotates teams through the district’s three gyms and still allows the latest practice to end at 8:30 p.m.

Hoosick Falls athletic director Tom Husser said they’ve been lucky with the weather, so teams have practiced enough that if a day of practice has to be canceled due to lack of space inside there wouldn’t be any concern about getting in required practices.

Because of the weather, teams need to play on turf fields, at least to start. Dirt and grass fields won’t be a viable option until later in the season.

The Adirondack League booked space at Golden Goal Sports Park, a complex with four turf fields in Fort Ann, for the boys’ and girls’ soccer games.

Hoosick Falls booked space at Afrim’s for soccer and field hockey games, and the football team’s first two games are “home” games, but they’ll be played on Watervliet’s turf field.

Schools across Section II are adopting a similar field-sharing arrangement.

Stillwater, one of the southernmost schools in Class D North, is hosting all three weekly games on their turf field. They’ve also offered other Wasaren League soccer teams the use of the field if their own grass fields aren’t usable, said athletic director Mike Kinney.

Averill Park lacks a turf field, so the Warriors have been using Columbia’s field to practice from 6 to 8 p.m. during the week.

“The schools that have turf fields have been great working with schools who don’t,” said athletic director Mark Bubniak, who described it as a “buddy system.”

Football schedules are set by a Section II committee, which took into account which schools have turf and which don’t when setting up the schedule, Bubniak said.

Averill Park, for example, is on the road for the first three weeks, playing at schools that have turf. The last two games are scheduled to be at home, but are against teams with turf fields, so they can be played on the road if necessary.

Schenectady is sharing its field with Niskayuna and Guilderland, and so far “it’s actually worked out very well,” said athletic director Steve Boynton.

Each team gets a twohour block, with the Silver Warriors practicing first from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. followed by the Patriots and then the Dutchmen.

“We like showing off our campus, so it’s always nice to have other groups come in and neighboring schools come in,” Boynton said.

And if the regular cross country course at Lake George doesn’t dry out, the Warriors will run their races on a course plotted on the back streets of the village of Lake George.

“We’re figuring it out: plan A, plan B, plan C,” Manny said.