Optimism still should exist after pause
Early January restart could yield 6-7 weeks of a regular season
Anger. Disgust. Disappointment. Those are some of the feelings everyone from high school athletes, to coaches, athletic directors and even parents have at Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to delay the start of winter sports. Those feelings are understandable, but may I offer a positive outlook on the situation?
Looking at the calendar, and considering what the PIAA and WPIAL are willing to do, winter sports still can have a sizable season that should satisfy many. And spring sports wouldn’t be hurt.
Stay with me here. First the facts, and then the positive solutions:
The rules: All high school and youth sports are suspended as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, and the shutdown goes until 8 a.m. Jan. 4. Teams can’t play games or practice.
Under PIAA rules, teams must practice 15 times before playing a game. Many teams already reached the 15-practice minimum and were going to play games Friday. A number of teams were shut down for a period of time but aren’t far away from 15 practices. Still, there are teams in Pennsylvania who have not practiced yet because of a shutdown at their school.
But let’s just take a look at basketball, the calendar and possibilities. Of course, this is provided that teams are allowed to start again Jan. 4.
Calendar: Under PIAA rules, basketball teams will have to practice four times before playing a game. So those teams that already have 15 practices can start games Jan. 8. Even if a team still needs 15 practices, it can start playing games, say, Jan. 21.
WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Friday that the WPIAL will extend the regular season until the last week of February. I say finish the regular season Feb. 26. Even if teams start games as late as Jan. 21, that gives them five weeks to play games. They could play three a week and come up with 15 games.
Think of it: If other teams start playing games, say, Jan. 11, that would give them about 6½ weeks in the regular season to play. That’s plenty. Teams easily could play 15 or 16 games in that time.
Playoffs: The WPIAL will consider an “open” basketball tournament, meaning anyone can participate if they choose, regardless of record or number of games played.
Do it. It makes sense and it only would mean one more round for all classifications. If the WPIAL regular season ended Feb. 26, the WPIAL could announce playoff pairings Feb. 27, and the playoffs could start March 2. Whether it’s an open tournament or not, play three rounds of games in a week. Play Sundays if needed. The WPIAL championships could be played March 14, 15 and 16.
Since the PIAA is taking only district champions to the state tournament this season, WPIAL teams don’t plug into the state playoffs until March 19. WPIAL champions could have at least three days off before the state playoffs. That’s not a lot, but so what? These are unprecedented times.
The PIAA championships are scheduled for March 26-28. That’s fine. If the PIAA sees too many teams are having to shut down for a week or so because of COVID-19 cases, the PIAA could play the championships a week later (April 1-3). PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said a few weeks ago that the PIAA would not be against holding the championships the first or second week in April if it was forced to do so.
And don’t hand me the malarkey that playing into late March or early April would hurt spring sports too much. Due to the weather, spring sports usually aren’t playing games regularly until early April. And if only WPIAL champions are going to the state basketball playoffs, you’re talking about 12 teams playing at the end of March.
Plus, the PIAA and WPIAL always could extend the spring sports seasons a little.
Undoubtedly, some teams likely will have to shut down for a week or so during January and/or February because of COVID-19 cases. But they would still have some wiggle room to get in games.
Now, this is all predicated on starting Jan. 4. If Wolf extends the shutdown, things get murky. But right now, there is reason for optimism that a winter sports season still could be fruitful.
PIAA statement
On Friday, the PIAA released a statement in response to Wolf’s shutdown. The release didn’t say much, except that the PIAA will continue to get advice about the startup of sports.
“In anticipation of hopefully returning to play in January, PIAA will continue to recognize and review suggestions from various professional education groups represented on the Board of Directors,” the statement said. “The Board has been proactive in the implementation of policies throughout the fall and winter sports’ seasons. At Wednesday’s meeting, the Board removed many eligibility restrictions and deadlines to allow for maximum flexibility and opportunities for schools to complete a winter season.”
Mask survey
The WPIAL surveyed its schools recently to get an idea of how many are requiring their teams to wear masks. A total of 114 schools responded to the survey, and 60 schools will not require their teams to wear masks during games or competitions. But 54 schools are requiring masks to some degree.
Fifteen schools said they will not play host to a game if the visiting team is not wearing masks. Seven schools will not play an away game if the opponent is not wearing masks.
Eligibility rulings
On Thursday, the WPIAL reviewed eligibility cases of 24 student-athlete transfers. Two freshman athletes who transferred from Norwin to Central Catholic after the end of the football season were ruled ineligible for the 2021 football season. They are Jayden Thrift and Jackson Pons.
Another notable transfer was Jaymar Pearson from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to Sto-Rox. Pearson, a junior, was OLSH’s leading rusher this season. He was ruled eligible for the regular season in 2021, but is ineligible for the postseason.