‘MOVING PARTS’
DLS tries to ‘stay positive’ as extended shutdown puts playoffs on hold
Coach Dan Rohn had just finished a virtual meeting with his De La Salle Collegiate football team, and for the umpteenth time in this season like no other he tried to gauge the players’ spirits.
“I think our kids are in a good place right now,” Rohn said Wednesday. “I just wonder how long they can hold that. That’s my concern.”
The protracted season is on hold again, shut down by an emergency order of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The order was issued Nov. 15 and extended by 12 days on Monday, stretching until Dec. 20 what some hope will be a pause in what’s left of the football, volleyball and girls swim seasons.
The Pilots (5-4) are due to play WarrenMott (7-1) in a Division 2 regional championship, but no one knows when that game and others will be played.
“Our biggest goal is to stay positive, to control the ‘controllables,’” said Rohn, who’s in his first season at DLS.
“We want to stay focused on the success we’ve had and the opportunity that could be in front of us, and we want to stay excited. We are trying. Any good news is great news right now.”
The Michigan High School Athletic Association had planned to give the OK for practice to resume Wednesday and for the football playoffs, which have three rounds to go, to be wrapped up between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
That changed when the emergency order was extended.
The MHSAA said in a statement that its representative council meeting Wednesday “was purely informational as members consider next steps for fall and winter sports that have been put on hold.”
Rohn isn’t optimistic that the playoffs can be completed before spring.
“If we could guarantee the weather would stay like this,” he said when asked about playing in January. “They’re talking about six to eight inches of heavy, wet snow on the west side of the state this weekend.
“That changes things for those teams up north and to the west. Every day, we’re taking a bigger risk in the state of Michigan. There’s not enough indoor facilities (that are) big enough to play in.”
The Pilots gave a drive-by birthday salute to a teammate who turned 16 on Tuesday.
The gesture, Rohn said, was a way for the players to show support and stay connected.
“Like I told his mom, ‘We’re making the best of every situation that we can,’” Rohn added.
Rohn is trying to find balance between a prospective regional game and making plans for the 2021 season.
Normally, he said, equipment would be packed and ready to be shipped for reconditioning.
But the players still have their helmets,
shoulder pads and other gear.
“There are a lot of moving parts,” Rohn said.
Recruiting, he said, is also in a state of uncertainty.
Many college players will be able to return to their teams in the fall without counting the 2020 season against their eligibility.
“There’s a trickle-down effect in recruiting at every level,” Rohn said. “Some coaches are recruiting a lot less kids because most of their team is coming back.
“Kids who are probably real good Division II players and (Mid-American Conference) players are going to drop down a notch. It’s all because of what’s going on.”
The problem, Rohn added, spreads to potential walk-on players, those who join a team without scholarship assistance. Their presence generates expenses for meals, travel, equipment and team events, Rohn pointed out.
“You can’t carry too many kids,” Rohn said.
De La Salle and Warren-Mott are among four Macomb County teams still alive in the playoffs.
Romeo (5- 4) is supposed to play West Bloomfield (8-1) in Division 1, and Michigan Collegiate (9-0) is slated to meet Clinton (8-1) in Division 6.
“I know our kids are working out, conditioning and staying focused,” Rohn said. “I think our kids have done an amazing job.”