Solano ‘opts in’ for late spring sports
Seasons will begin around April 10
In baseball or softball terms, Solano Community College made a final decision on late spring sports in its last at-bat.
The college officially announced Friday that it was “opting in” for baseball, softball, swimming/diving and tennis, confirmed by athletic director Erik Visser. Friday was the deadline for community colleges across California to make a final decision.
“Obviously we were monitoring what was going on in the state and counties,” Visser said about coronavirus cases dropping. “We saw counties moving from purple to red or red to orange (tiers). We also looked at the green light for youth sports and other athletic activities. We’ve had a plan for months as far as ‘Safe Solano’ protocols.”
Visser said competition would begin around April 10 with a reduced number of games and an emphasis on conference play. Conditioning activities will start next week “through a phased in approach with strict protocols for COVID testing, tracing, social distancing and sanitizing the facilities,” he said.
Besides those sports, conditioning will be allowed for fall/winter sports like women’s volleyball, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s basketball on April 12. Those sports were not allowed to play in the fall and winter of 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 conditions.
“This will be for outdoor activities only,” Visser said. “Indoor sports will be the next step but for now, conditioning is allowed for those athletes.”
Spectators will not be allowed. The events will be limited to only essential personnel — athletes, coaches, staff and officials. Visser pointed out that Solano’s Rockville campus has great space where athletes can be kept well distanced from one another.
One of the plans is to have staggered schedules. For example, base
ball will play on certain days and softball on others. Visser said baseball likely would play a single game against a team on a Thursday and then a doubleheader against that same school on Friday to minimize travel.
Falcons head baseball coach Scott Stover said he informed his team about the decision over group text on Wednesday. Scott said he expects to have over 30 players but he has heard from a few who decided to opt out for the season and come back next spring.
The team had been meeting over Zoom for a baseball class so players have been been given updates when they were available.
“(Friday) was the day when everyone made a decision whether to opt in or out, but there’s so much more to be done,” Stover said. “I’m not trying to look too far ahead.”
He said that coaches likely would have to travel with smaller groups when possible.
“These are conversations we’d had with our coaches,” Visser said. “We want them to designate only essential personnel. Basically, don’t bring pitchers who threw the day before who aren’t going to throw. To help keep the athletes spaced out, we may have to bring two buses rather than one like we normally do.”
Visser said the school’s COVID-testing protocols will be more strict than what the California Community College Athletic Association has recommended. The state recommended testing once per week but Solano is testing athletes twice per week. Testing will be paid for by the State of California, similar to how high school athletes are being tested.
Visser said schedules could be completed next week when he finds out which other Bay Valley Conference schools also decided to opt in. He said schools like Napa Valley, Marin and Los Medanos have all said yes to late spring sports but he’s waiting on final answers from others.
Visser said this is still a fluid situation and adjustments may have to be made, depending on conditions.
“We’re being cautious in allowing sports to return,” he said. “We don’t take this lightly.”