Gloucester endeavors to find foes outside PD
The Gloucester School Board’s decision this week to allow Gloucester High to seek opponents for a winter sports schedule is drawing positive responses within the community.
Now comes the hard part: finding opponents for the Dukes, whose nine Peninsula District counterparts have decided to sit out the winter season due to COVID-19 concerns.
“Scheduling is very hard,” Gloucester athletic director Kristy Hunter said. “With so many schools in our area canceling, still delayed or doing a district-only schedule, it is taking a lot to secure enough games.
“But we have some great schools around us with Mathews and York County that are extremely helpful and squeezing us in.”
As of Friday afternoon, Gloucester had a tentative schedule put together. Hunter said the schedule, which needs approval from the district superintendent, would have six games for the basketball teams, four matches for wrestling, three meets for indoor track and one swimming meet.
“We are excited and nervous all at once,” Hunter said. “Getting to have a potential season means we are giving the kids options and outlets, but we know that in our area, all eyes are on us to make
sure this goes well and safely.
“It gives me hope that a fall season (beginning in February) could be happening next.”
Gloucester girls basketball coach Colin Brown believes even an abbreviated winter season is better than none.
“My excitement is for the kids and a lot of it is for the seniors,
Marlo Jenkins and Cody Brown (no relation), who will get to play the season despite the circumstances going on,” he said. “If we can get eight to 10 games in, that will be excellent, but if we can get just a couple in and my seniors go out in style, then I’m OK with that.”
Brown, a first-year coach at Gloucester, also sees a long-term benefit to playing. He has a young team, and any games his team can get in will be a key to building for the future.
“We’ll play anyone because the girls need experience,” he said. “The school board put in the time and expertise and made the decision they felt was best for us.
“We support it 100 percent.” The Gloucester community is also happy with sports restarting, especially Barbara and George Ronan, whose son, Jack Ronan, plays on the Dukes’ boys varsity basketball team.
“Jack has played club or high school sports all of his life, so doing nothing has been very difficult,” Barbara Ronan said. “He’s extremely happy to get the chance to participate in athletics again.”
Said George Ronan, “We’ve been taking our kids to athletic events for 30 years and there’s been nothing this year, so we’re happy to get to see Jack play his senior season.”