Push is on for state tournaments
No consensus among TMC members, athletic directors
Come April 26, spring student-athletes across Massachusetts will take the field for the first time in nearly 650 days. What comes after that is no sure thing.
Despite the MIAA Tournament Management Committee voting last week in favor of a sectional tournament, a number of the committee’s members, as well as a slew of other athletic directors, remain aggressive in their push for a state tournament. The urge for a fullon state tournament is amidst a growing desire to give spring student-athletes and coaches as close to a normal season as possible after the entire 2020 spring season was canceled at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am for a full state tournament as long as we can do it safely and follow all the guidelines set by the Department of Public Health,” Wellesley athletic director and TMC member John Brown said. “We’re on pace to play a sectional tournament. I think we can play two more games and play for a state championship.”
At last week’s TMC meeting, leading members of the committee expected there to be universal agreement that a sectional tournament was the best way to go. That, however, was not the case as Brown and a handful of other members including St. Mary’s Lynn athletic director Jeff Newhall expressed support for a state tournament. Brown took time to note that he had polled District 7, which includes the Bay State League, Hockomock League, and Tri-Valley League, and the vote to have a state tournament was 25-7 in favor. Dedham principal James Forrest voted against his overall district’s wishes and against a state tournament. Bridgewater-Raynham athletic director Dan Buron voted against a state tournament despite being in favor of one due to his district being in opposition.
“I think we could definitely pull a state tournament off,” Newhall said. “The spring athletes felt the brunt of what we’re going through from a high school sports standpoint and they should get the most if we can make it work and do it safely.”
Other members were in favor of a sectional tournament. Wahconah athletic director Jared Shannon expressed a desire for the TMC to set the cutoff date for sectionals and then have the South, North, Central, and West decide their own qualifying standards and format. The 12-6 vote was in favor of a sectional tournament with TMC executive director Jim O’Leary announcing the formation of a subcommittee to determine if an MIAA sectional tournament is feasible and how it would be structured.
Findings will be presented to the TMC on Monday for a full committee vote. Whatever the TMC ultimately votes to recommend on Monday will then be delivered to the Sports Medicine Committee, COVID-19 Task Force, and Board of Directors for approval. While it appears a sectional tournament is the most likely outcome, nothing is assured.
Athletic directors and principals across the state, most notably from Central and Western Mass. and some schools across the south shore, have voiced concerns over a tournament with administrators comfortable with how the first three seasons have gone. While they recognize what a tournament could provide to student-athletes, they do not see the upside of playing potentially into early July when league tournaments have taken place comfortably with minimal issue. They are skeptical of what a tournament may look like including what type of qualifiers would be put into place for a team to enter into the tournament and when it would conclude. Administrators are also concerned about the prospect of a team only playing a 10-12 game regular season only to have their season come to an end via an MIAA one-and-done tournament in the middle of June.
Some have mused that even if there was an approved sectional or state tournament, they would opt out due to the rushed creation of the tournament with others voicing the belief that this year is solely about giving kids any experience regardless of what it looks like.
Boston City League Assistant Athletic Director Billy Sittig noted conference tournaments have gone smoothly.
“Opening up to sectional tournaments this spring seems contradictory to the conservative, league-only competition approach that has been proven to work during the pandemic,” Sittig said. “Urban districts are still dealing with limited or no athletic transportation, and many other challenges in their return to school that could hinder or prohibit participation.”
A few others have taken an opposite position, believing that spring student-athletes are entitled to as normal an experience as possible. Whitman-Hanson athletic director Bob Rodgers is a strong proponent of a state tournament following a near-full regular season slate.
“Heading into the year we said our No. 1 goal was to give spring athletes, who missed out on all of 2020, the best experience possible and I don’t think we have achieved that goal or are trying hard enough to,” Rodgers said. “We should be advocating for them as athletic directors to have a more traditional season. It’s frustrating and so wrong.”
Newhall, who will be a voice to ultimately decide on Monday what to recommend from the TMC, would like a state tournament but admits a sectional tournament is the most likely outcome. Ideally, he would like to see an open tournament with no minimum requirement of games played due to the likely possibility of multiple teams facing COVID-19 shutdowns over the course of the season.
“I feel pretty good that we are headed for at least a sectional tournament,” Newhall said.
The chances of a state tournament, however, have not completely dashed. Multiple MIAA Board of Directors members in opposition to a tournament due to concerns cited previously have voiced the belief that if the TMC were to approve a sectional tournament, they would be hard-pressed not to go ahead and simply add the two extra games to finish it off when they convene next Friday, March 12.
Amidst all the noise, student-athletes are holding out hope that when the Board of Directors makes their final decision on spring season tournaments, a chance to compete for a championship is still on the table.
“We missed the entire baseball season last year and did not get a chance to compete at all. We are all athletes and we want to compete to the end to see who’s the best. That’s what we do,” Austin Prep outfielder and Richmond commit Jake Elbeery said.
“Taking away the state championship after missing all of last year leaves another hole in a second season in a row. It seems that they should be able to figure out how to make this happen.”