FOR LOVE OF THE GAMES
What’s different about the fall high school season in Connecticut? Here’s how each sport has been affected by the pandemic — and how young athletes have responded with a passion
A“The resilience they are showing is tremendous. I would never know the predicament we are in based on their behavior and their work ethic.”
fter two weeks of conditioning practices in small groups, high school sports teams in Connecticut will be able to start full contact practices — with their full teams — on Monday, with games scheduled to start Oct. 1.
So how has each sport been affected by the coronavirus pandemic? Here’s a rundown:
Cross country
Boys and girls cross country is probably one of the sports least affected by the restrictions placed on practices due to COVID-19. It’s a non-contact sport, it’s outdoors and the runners are able to train in small groups.
“The resilience they are showing is tremendous,” said Xavier cross country coach Chris Stonier of his team which won the Class L championship last fall. “I would never know the predicament we are in based on their behavior and their work ethic.”
Cross country, like the other sports, will compete regionally, in dual meets. Timing chips will be used to track times. There will be spacing at the start of races and no chutes at the finish line to reduce
— Xavier cross country coach Chris Stonier
crowding. Everybody must wear a mask unless they are competing or participating in “rigorous team warmups.” Races are limited to 50 runners.
As of Monday, Conard boys coach Ron Knapp was waiting for the OK to hold meets at the MDC Reservoir in West Hartford. If not, he was preparing a shorter 4,000meter course around the high school.
“I don’t have a lot of room,” Knapp said. “It was creative, let’s put it that way.”
Bill Baron, the East Catholic assistant cross country coach who is the meet director for the class championships and State Open, said the post-season is still up in the air.
“I don’t know what they’ll do with the class meets,” he said. “I see it being smaller, more regional, in our divisions. We’re just happy to have a season.”
Field hockey
Like the other team sports, field hockey teams have been practicing skill work and conditioning for an hour every day, in groups of 10. On Monday, the teams will be able to practice for 90 minutes, and on Sept. 26, they will be able to practice two hours and hold scrimmages.
“We split our field groups by year and skill,” said Granby coach Sandy Wickman Mason, whose team won its 14th Class S title last November. “Each of the captains has a virtual group and they do team building and bonding separately.
“It has forced us to be creative in our practice planning to get the most out of our 60 minutes. We’re very much looking forward to [real practice].”
Granby opens its season Oct. 1 against Simsbury and has 12 games against six opponents, with its regular season ending Nov. 5.
Field hockey, like the other sports, is slated to have a post-season “tournament experience” from Nov. 7-21 with the format to be determined. [subhead] Volleyball [/ sub head] Because they play indoors, volleyball players are the only high school athletes who have to wear a mask while competing, a rule CIAC implemented to satisfy the state Department of Public Health guidelines.
Some teams were doing skill work in small groups indoors and conditioning outside and some were both conditioning and practicing indoors in small groups, but like the other sports, they will be able to practice together as teams for the first time Sept. 21.
“There’s some volleyball going on,” Tolland coach Vinnie Cianfarani said last week. “But it’s not as detailed as it needs to be to get ready for the season.”
Tolland has 54 players. Cianfarani split the main gym, with 10 players on each side of a divider, then he sends 10 more to a back gym. He’s been running two sessions each day, from 4:15-6:15 p.m.
The Eagles, who will play six opponents in 11 games, will open their season Oct. 1 against Manchester.
Girls swimming
Swimming may be indoors, but swimmers can maintain a 6-foot distance from each other. However, depending on the facility, only a certain amount of swimmers can be on the pool deck or in the facility at a time.
Because of this, some teams are choosing to have virtual meets, in which the swimmers compete in their own pools and then compare times. Others were planning on having actual meets with social distancing, swimmers wearing masks while not competing and other safety protocols in place. Post-season competition may be held virtually, with swimmers competing at their own pools then submitting results.
Boys and girls soccer
Classified as a moderate-risk outdoor sport, soccer remains largely unchanged aside from the schedule difference (12 regular-season games) and preseason modifications that the other fall sports have faced. But coaches have still had to adjust to an unusual preseason. With players only allowed to practice in groups of 10 until Sept. 21, teams have had to get creative without the ability to do any sort of traditional 11-on-11 inter-squad games.
“It is totally different,” said Hand coach Greg Cumpstone, whose Tigers won the Class L state title last year. “From an administrative perspective, we’re trying to figure out what’s the right combination of players for each cohort. We have 75 kids in our program. We have eight different cohorts. We’re trying to figure out if it would make sense to have a group of 10 forwards, and a group of 10 midfielders. Or would it be better to have 10 different field position players together?’
Cumpstone did acknowledge that the extended preseason, which started in August and will end on Sept. 21 when standard practices begin, gives his staff added time to install tactics and strategy.
“We can not only get the players up to speed fitness-wise, but also we can introduce some of the ideas that we want them to assimilate in preparation for the season,” he said. “Some of the tactical concepts we want, we have a lot more time for that. Try and give our players a bigger range of preparation than we can in a usual 10-day preseason.”
Glastonbury girls coach Joe Finocchiaro is working to prepare his players for a Class LL title defense, and he said he’s used the conditioning period to focus on ball skills, agility and strength. He’s yet to hold official tryouts, but has slowly been ramping up the intensity of conditioning week after week.
He said that even with a different offseason than players are used to (many soccer players compete in private leagues in the spring, or another CIAC-sanctioned sport), there hasn’t been much rust to shake off.
“That’s been kind of the biggest thing for us, just making sure they have another day to play,” Finocchiaro said. “They just ran a mile after they did the beep test. These kids our eager to be out here, and they’re willing to do whatever.”
Glastonbury opens its season Oct. 1 against East Catholic.
Football
The status of Connecticut’s high school football season has been the subject of a spirited debate. In the CIAC’s original fall sports plan released on July 31, football was scheduled to play six regular season games, with two potential playoff games. But after the state Department of Public Health deemed football unsafe to play without modifications, the CIAC canceled full-contact games on Sept. 4.
Even after the decision to cancel games, the CIAC proposed a modified full-contact season to the DPH, though the department remains steadfast in its recommendation that the CIAC should seek low- or moderate-risk options for football, or postpone the season.
The fall season was finally tabled for good on Sept. 16. CIAC executive director Glenn Lungarini said the organization hopes to offer lowor moderate-risk alternatives for players this fall, such as combines or passing leagues, and may explore playing a season that starts in late winter or early spring.
Teams can still condition and practice under the same guidelines as other fall sports.