OKC-area districts to use OSSAA proposal
Oklahoma City-area school districts will follow the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association's proposal for restarting high school sports and activities, beginning on June 8.
The OSSAA board of directors rejected the three-phased proposal last week. The decision gave each school district the option to resume athletic activities immediately. High school sports have been canceled since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oklahoma City Public Schools athletic director Todd Dilbeck said districts throughout the metro have agreed the safest way to proceed is by roughly following the OSSAA's plan.
The timeline for each phase varies among the districts.
Dilbeck said Oklahoma City Public Schools will hold Phase 1 from June 8 to June 26. During this phase, strength and conditioning workouts are permitted.
After the annual dead week period from June 27 to July 5, Phase 2 for the district will begin and continue through July 15, Dilbeck said. Non contact football practices, activity-specific instruction, intrasquad scrimmages and tryouts are allowed during this period.
Phase 3, which allows all fall sports teams to hold unrestricted practices, will follow.
Norman Public Schools athletic director TD O'Hara said
his district will have shorter phases throughout June.
“That will allow us more time to gather data and see where we're at with the circumstances we're involved in and then prepare on how the month of July looks for all sports,” O'Hara said.
Tulsa-area districts agreed to resume athletic activities on June 8 but haven't decided when to transition into Phase 2.
The OSSAA's next board meeting is set for June 9.
Cushing hires former Newcastle assistant coach
Former Newcastle assistant girls basketball coach Jake Phillips will take over as Cushing's girls basketball head coach, he announced on Wednesday morning.
The Cushing position will be Phillips' second girls basketball head coaching job. He spent a year in Texas as the head coach at Samnorwood, a school that is now closed.
“It's a great area, it's a program with a lot of tradition,” Phillips said of Cushing. “Coach ( Pat) Elder and Coach (Brian) Busby have built an amazing program there. They have amazing facilities. And that really drove me to apply and I was so thankful when they said, `we'd love for you to come on board.'”
Along with basketball, Phillips coached softball at Newcastle, serving as the head coach of the slowpitch team and the assistant coach of the fastpitch team. He will continue to coach softball at Cushing as the assistant coach of the fastpitch team.
Phillips succeeds Busby, who took an administrative role after the 2019-20 season.
Edmond North golfer wins Oak Tree Junior Classic
Edmond North golfer Jordan Wilson won the Oak Tree Junior Classic on Tuesday.
Wilson, an Oklahoma State commit, finished with a 36-hole score of 5-under 135, defeating Christian Heritage star and OU commit Drew Goodman by one stroke. Both golfers are members of the 2021 class.
Oklahoma Christian School's Jaxon Dowell, who will play at OU next season, placed third with a score of 140. Golfers played 18 holes on both Oak Tree East and Oak Tree West.
The event is independent from the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.