Fate of local basketball season uncertain
Court settlement will help clear the way for games, with protocols
MONTEREY >> Indoor sports for local high schools appear to be one step closer to returning.
In a court settlement reached in San Diego Thursday with the state of California over two lawsuits filed for all sports to return, the tentative agreement would allow all indoor sports to resume.
However, nothing has been finalized. And each county and health department in the state will have the final say.
“The settlement is not ready for review,” said Central Coast Section commissioner David Grissom, on the potential return of indoor sports. “Until such time, the current California Department of Public Health (CDPH) sports guidelines in the CCS remain in effect.”
Of course, that could change in a heartbeat, as has been the case of late with different sports being allowed to return, despite not being in the appropriate colored tier.
“We’re not assuming competition for indoor sports is inevitable,” Carmel athletic director Golden Anderson said. “We still have our plan to roll out our Season 2 sports on March 29. We are evaluating as things change.”
Despite still being in the purple tier, football (orange tier) was allowed to resume competition last Monday when Monterey County went under the 14 per-100,000 case count, with the stipulation that all players, coaches and trainers have to be tested once a week.
Most indoor sports are in the yellow tier.
“The hard part is this changes daily,” Monterey Principal Tom Newton said. “The plan is still being put together. We’re confident that it will happen in our district.”
Despite the case count dropping in Monterey County for the return of football, field hockey, and boys and girls water polo, the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District still canceled all three sports and announced Thursday that girls volleyball will also be canceled.
All four sports fall into the Season 1 tier that the CCS adopted as a plan for sports going forward back in July. With Season 2 sports coming into focus this month, it’s creating a logjam for facilities.
“We’re going to have to be real creative with schedules and times,” Newton said. “I would argue that we have the most impacted facility in the county. We want to create as much of an experience as possible for all sports, but in a safe and healthy manner as well.”
With the CCS going with a twosport plan for seasons, basketball and wrestling were lumped into the second season, which is slated to start March 29.
“Once you go indoors, it’s more than sports,” Anderson said. “There are rules that have to be governed. I have no knowledge of what that will look like. We will try and do what’s safe for our kids.”
As optimistic as Pacific Grove boys basketball coach Dan Powers has tried to be throughout the pandemic, he remains skeptical about how these turn of events will unfold.
Powers, whose program has never missed the playoffs, has been conducting outdoor workouts three days a week for basketball.
“We still need a lot of information from the CIF and the CDPD,” Powers said. “Once we get those guidelines, it will come down to a county and school district decision.”
A former Pacific Grove star, Powers’ biggest concern is testing.
Basketball will remain in the yellow tier, meaning testing will be required until case rates drop to 1 per-100,000.
“From what I’m initially reading, the state is not going to pay for indoor tests like they are for the outdoors contact sports that require it,” Powers said. “So who foots the bill for that?”
Last month the Salinas Union High School District trustees voted to allow the return of sports that were given state clearance based on color codes and case counts, but only among the five public schools in the district.
North Salinas athletic director Jean Ashen said basketball, volleyball or wrestling practices will not start until there is confirmation from the California Department of Public Health.
“Right now there are no plans to go inside for us,” Ashen said. “We have not heard anything from the CDPH. That remains in effect until we hear an agreement has been finalized.”
The effort in bringing sports back on campus has been challenging. Kids aren’t on campus, except when practice is held. North Salinas has brought back cross-country, football and tennis, with track and field, swimming, baseball and softball likely to follow.
“You just don’t show up and participate,” Ashen said. “From physical forms to clearance checks, there’s a lot going into this. We’ve worked really hard to have the seasons we’re having. The coaches have been amazing.”
Temperature checks are a requirement each day before practices at all schools in the county, as are five health questions coaches are supposed to ask their athletes. As is the case with football, sanitizing basketballs and volleyballs will be a priority if allowed to resume.
“Football has been practicing no huddles,” said Ashen, whose district has yet to hold a sporting event. “It’s going to look different when we get going for any sport. We all have to be on the same page.”
In addition to having a district-only schedule for most sports, the Salinas Union High School District trustees decided that only varsity sports will be allowed in this abbreviated season to limit the number of participants in each sport.
Returning to the hardwood does have an appeal to Alisal athletic director Jose Gil, who is also the school’s basketball coach.
Gil hasn’t conducted any basketball type of conditioning drills indoors or out since last February 2020 when the season ended.
“It might be like going back to when you were young and you just played everyone,” Gil said. “If we’re allowed, we’ll take it. It’s gonna look different. But it will still feel like basketball.
“I’m ready for the challenges if all these sports return,” Gil said. “It won’t be an easy juggling act. My message to our coaches is don’t take this for granted. At the same time, safety has to be the No. 1 priority.”
With all these sports potentially occurring at the same time, smaller schools may have trouble fielding programs, especially if athletes are only allowed to compete in just one sport during its season.
“For our school, it could be a problem,” Powers said. “Right now we’re only allowing kids to practice one sport. There’s no crossover. It’s a huge challenge.”