Sign of hope? Bay Area high school officials might adjust sports calendar

Commissioners from the Bay Area’s two largest high school sports sections for the first time told the Bay Area News Group last late week that the revised calendar announced last summer — and paused in December — could be adjusted in an effort to provide as much hope as possible for kids to return to the playing field this school year.

“It’s a conversation we’re having,” said North Coast Section commissioner Pat Cruickshank, who presides over an area that stretches from Alameda County to the coastal side of the Oregon border. “No decision has been made. As fluid as this situation has been, we need to see what’s best for our schools, leagues, section, and the state. There are a lot of people having these conversations.”

Added Dave Grissom, commissioner of the Central Coast Section, which extends from King City to San Francisco, “The main goal is to get kids back into competition. That’s goal No. 1 at this point. Allow kids to have some semblance of normalcy is the goal.”

In theory, the schedule change would push all sports allowed under the California Department of Public Health guideline’s most restrictive tier — outdoor non-contact — into the first of two seasons high school officials implemented this school year because there were no sports in the fall. Traditionally, the high school calendar has fall, winter and spring seasons.

If California’s stay-at-home order is lifted this month, here are the sports that could be played in specific tiers:

PURPLE TIER >> Cross country, golf, tennis, swimming and diving, track and field.

RED TIER >> Baseball, girls lacrosse, softball.

ORANGE TIER >> Badminton, football, boys lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, water polo.

YELLOW TIER >> Basketball, competitive cheer, wrestling, dance.

And here are the sports calendars that were announced by the CCS and NCS in July when the California Interscholastic Federation elected not to have fall sports:

SEASON 1 >> Cross country, field hockey, football, gymnastics (NCS), water polo, volleyball, traditional competitive cheer (NCS)

SEASON 2 >> Badminton, soccer, tennis, swimming and diving, wrestling, basketball, baseball, boys golf, girls golf, lacrosse, softball, track and field, traditional competitive cheer (CCS), gymnastics (CCS), competitive cheer.

Note: Boys volleyball was moved to Season 2 in December.

All Bay Area counties are currently in the purple tier, putting high school officials in a difficult spot given that only cross country would get the green light to start under such restrictions if the calendars are not adjusted.

Administrators are now asking themselves if it would be beneficial to move Season 2, purpletiered sports — golf, tennis, track and field and swimming and diving — into Season 1 in order to get more kids involved.

But there are drawbacks to switching up the schedule.

“There are a lot of things to weigh when you’re looking at this,” Grissom said. “It’s an oddly difficult thing to do.”

If sports move, the complex web of scheduling — aligning opponents, field time, locations and dates gets even more tangled.

“There’s quite a bit that goes into any season in any sport,” Grissom said.

Section commissioners also have to consider the disparate shifts between the various counties they oversee. Monterey, with schools in the CCS, has yet to leave the purple tier. San Francisco is one of the only counties to reach yellow.

Can too much meddling leave schools in more restrictive counties with fewer opportunities to play than schools in counties that may switch tiers? What if specific counties or schools don’t want to comply?

“There’s that opportunity to get some sports going soon, but what if one league decides to do it and the other doesn’t?” Cruickshank said.

Also on the table: Sections are debating whether to keep playoffs for Season 1. If they eliminate the playoffs, it would allow some teams to start later. That could be an issue for some athletes who want high-level, state competition on their resume.

Alternatives will be bandied about in executive meetings this month. Without more guidance from state health officials, section leaders might just wait for conditions to improve.

“I’m not a scientist, but I have to believe that as we move between now and June, things will have to get better,” Grissom said. “With vaccinations, I have to think things will get better.” ‘LET THEM PLAY’ RALLY PLANNED >> De La Salle’s Justin Alumbaugh and Serra’s Patrick Walsh aren’t used to seeing time run out for their successful football teams. Yet they’re just like every other coach these days, with COVID-19 protocols threatening to further delay a season that isn’t even promised.

While the state health department had targeted Jan. 25 as the earliest possible start to high school sports, the agency also said it would reassess the situation by Jan. 4. That deadline came and went last week.

That’s why Walsh and Alumbaugh, in conjunction with the Walsh-created “Golden State HS Football Coaches Community,” are leading an all-out blitz to deliver a message to both state and county health officials. They’re armed with data showing it will be safe for kids to return to the courts and fields during the pandemic.

The coaches are hardly alone in their push, though.

“Let Them Play CA,” a statewide Facebook group of more than 27,000 parents of athletes, is encouraging parents and players at every high school in California to hold simultaneous rallies Friday at 4 p.m.

Masks are required at the rallies while signs reading “Let Them Play” are strongly encouraged. The Facebook group is also encouraging parents to send correspondence imploring state government officials to re-open sports.

Walsh and Alumbaugh say they’ll submit some convincing numbers from a coaches survey to health officials that safety can be achieved during a return to athletic competition. There have been 700,000 total workouts by 15,845 athletes since June, according to data from 200 coaches surveyed in the Golden State coaches community. Out of those workouts have come just five positive cases of COVID-19 traced to the workouts. Also, coaches appeared at workouts more than 100,000 times and just one coach tested positive as a result of those workouts.