Some athletic directors believe football should be moved to spring
Many athletic directors in the WPIAL feel fall high school sports should go on as scheduled despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
But a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette survey conducted from Friday through Tuesday shows a significant amount of people who believe football — and at least a few other sports — should be postponed until the spring. And among those who favor moving sports to the spring are a few football coaches who also are athletic directors.
The questionnaire was sent to athletic directors at the 117 football-playing WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) schools. The ADs were asked to vote for one of three scenarios:
• Proceed with all fall sports as scheduled.
• Play some fall sports but move the sports of football, boys and girls soccer and field hockey to the spring and have shortened seasons.
• Postpone all fall sports and move them to the spring with shortened seasons.
A total of 74 athletic directors responded, and 69% voted to play all fall sports as scheduled. But nearly one-third of the respondents — 31% — voted to move at least football, soccer and field hockey.
The WPIAL is part of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, and the PIAA board of directors is scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to decide whether to have fall sports as scheduled. Gov. Tom Wolf and the state departments of health and education have recommended calling off all school and recreation sports until Jan. 1, but that is not a mandate.
Indications coming from PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi strongly suggest the board will vote to conduct fall sports, but it will be up to individual schools around the state to choose if they want to participate. WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman has already said the league wants to have fall sports, though some schools, such as Uniontown High and Summit Academy, have already elected to not have fall seasons.
McGuffey High School athletic director/football coach Ed Dalton, who has been a football coach at five different Pennsylvania schools and has a 196-127-1 record across more than three decades, said he believes all fall sports should be moved to the spring.
“I would absolutely want to play right now, but my fear is an overreaction after a week or so, and no plan to pivot,” Dalton said. “That said, I think the three-season model beginning after July 1 gives all athletes the best opportunity to play. Honestly, I think for a multiple-sport athlete, it would be a blast.”
Fall sports in Pennsylvania include football, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball, girls tennis, and boys and girls golf. The three-season model Dalton prefers would have winter sports — basketball, wrestling, girls gymnastics, and swimming and diving — played from December or January to March; fall sports from March to May; and spring sports — track and field, baseball, softball, boys tennis, boys volleyball, and boys and girls lacrosse — from May to the end of June or early July. A few other states have already decided to use similar models for their high school sports.
“I’m not sure my opinion is popular, but it is thought out and has been discussed,” Dalton said. “We must not deny opportunities for athletes like we did last spring, if it is within our power to make adjustments and put a plan in place.”
Ryan Matsook is the athletic director at Western Beaver High School and in his first season as football coach. He won a football state championship four years ago as the coach at Beaver Falls.
“I would be supportive of moving some fall sports to the spring,” Matsook said. “My worry is we start those higher-risk sports now and get shut down a few weeks in.”
Bill Cherpak is the athletic director at Thomas Jefferson High but also one of the most successful football coaches in WPIAL history, winning a record eight WPIAL titles.
“My answer would depend on what happens if an athlete tests positive. Is there going to be a protocol for everybody?” said Cherpak, who didn’t vote on whether football should be moved to the spring. “If you have to shut down a team for two weeks, then I don’t see how it’s going to work. …
Football, soccer, volleyball — they would be safe to move to the spring.”
Mike Bosnic is Washington High’s athletic director/ football coach who won a WPIAL title three years ago and has coached a team to a championship game three times in the past eight years.
“I’m not strongly advocating one thing or another,” Bosnic said. “My thinking is with all the uncertainty and questions we have right now, it just seems reasonable to push some sports back to the spring. Hopefully by then, things are a lot better.
“There’s really no right or wrong answer. It’s just a mess, and it’s been very frustrating as an athletic director. All indications we’re getting is that we’re moving forward with sports. We’re excited and we have to get the kids ready and make it a good experience for them. But it’s just a tough situation to be in.”
The PIAA’s decision on fall sports in Pennsylvania would affect more than 100,000 high school studentathletes. According to the most recent participation statistics provided by the National Federation of State High School Associations, 119,000 boys and girls played fall sports in the state in the 2018-19 school year.
A total of 74 athletic directors responded, and 69% voted to play all fall sports as scheduled. But nearly onethird of the respondents — 31% — voted to move at least football, soccer and field hockey to the spring. Eight athletic di-rectors believed all fall sports should be moved to the spring, with three shortened seasons.