The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
» Area coaches, athletes continue to play waiting game,
After a week of waiting, coaches and players readied for word from an OHSAA news conference scheduled for March 19, set to address the fate of the winter sports tournaments and the upcoming spring sports seasons.
After executive director Jerry Snodgrass finished giving his statement and answering questions from the media, those coaches and players were left once again waiting for more. Snodgrass announced the hockey, wrestling and boys and girls basketball tournaments would continue to be indefinitely postponed, while a tentative start date for the spring sports season was set for April 6.
Although that could all change within 24-48 hours as Snodgrass made it clear he’s hoping to have a decision made on the state tournaments within that time frame.
“We will be making that decision for winter sports probably in the next 24-48 hours,” Snodgrass said March 19. “I think it’s imperative that we have to and cannot procrastinate. I do not want to lead people on and give them false hope.”
It’s leaving seniors such as Elyria’s Mick Burnett in limbo as they wait to hear if their high school careers are over.
“(This past week and a half) has had a lot of ups and downs. First we thought we’d have less fans, then it got postponed, but we’re trying to be as positive as possible,” Burnett said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together over these past two weeks. There’s been a lot of reflecting and just kind of talking about our careers. This isn’t the way we wanted to end things, but I think we’re just trying to be as positive as we can be.”
Burnett was one of eight Pioneers set to make an appearance at state March 13, but with the indefinite postponement the 2019 state champion at 132 pounds is now just attempting to stay ready in case the tournament resumes.
“We haven’t been able to do much,” Burnett said of his training. “Speaking for myself, I’ll go for a run here and there to try and stay in shape and keep my weight under control. That’s about all you can do.”
When asked if he would rather have hope while being stuck in limbo on whether or not the tournament will resume or have a decision made to cancel it, Elyria coach Erik Burnett pointed out the potential difficulties in resuming the tournament.
“This isn’t the way we wanted to end things, but I think we’re just trying to be as positive as we can be.” Elyria wrestler Mick Burnett
“That’s the hardest part. Wrestling’s a lot different from everything else, and we were just talking about this,” Burnett said. “You want kids to be able to have their chance. With the nature of wrestling being what it is, there’s a good chance this might not end up happening. Everybody would like a little more clarity on it, but I don’t know who’s truly going to be happy with the finality.”
Set weight classes in wrestling add to the urgency of a decision from Snodgrass, as state-qualifying wrestlers would need to maintain their weight for several weeks while
waiting for the resumption of the tournament.
Either that or go through drastic weight cuts when the news of the return of the tournament was made.
Firelands wrestling coach Josh Walbom was another coach preparing to send a wrestler to the state tournament, when the OHSAA made the move to postpone.
Much like Burnett, Walbom understands the urgency of the situation.
“At this point, it’s definitely just make your decision and let’s run with it,” he said. “I actually felt that way when the decision was first made. As a coach, you look at the reality of it. Wrestling is one of those sports where you can’t just take a week off and then jump right back into it.”
“At this point, it’s definitely just make your decision and let’s run with it. I actually felt that way when the decision was first made. As a coach, you look at the reality of it.” Firelands wrestling coach Josh Walbom