• Scripps Ranch coach wants to let families decide.

With all that is spinning around the high school sports world, Scripps Ranch High football coach Marlon Gardinera was looking for a way to help not only his players, but athletes around the state.

Gardinera is the father of two Scripps Ranch football players, 1,800-yard running back Nicholas and Ethan, a defensive starter. The Falcons were 12-1 last season.

Monday’s announcement by the Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified school districts that the start of the fall semester will be online hit Nicholas like one of his brother’s big hits. Nicholas sat alone in the football stadium at Scripps Ranch, trying to make sense of the situation.

Monday’s announcement also brings into focus Marlon Gardinera’s project “Let Families Decide.”

“What I’m asking is that parents be allowed to decide if their students return to high school sports,” Gardinera said.

Almost 59 percent of those who responded to a San Diego Unified parent survey said they were planning to send their students to school full time for on-campus learning, while more than 30 percent preferred a combination of online and on-campus learning.

At Scripps Ranch, 94.7 percent of families who completed a survey want their students on-campus full or part time.

“We, as parents, just want a voice,” Gardinera said. “This isn’t a rogue organization. We follow all the social-distancing rules.

“We’d like parents all over the county, all over the country, to go to our website — letfamiliesdecide.org — see what we’re all about, and if they like what they see, fill out the form, call their lawmakers, school officials, health directors and give the parents a chance to decide.”