Section committees approve plans for prep teams to return to practice
The North Coast Section and Central Coast Section executive committees approved plans for high school sports teams to return to practice amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the return dates vary between sections.
The NCS on Thursday unveiled a model that will allow sports that state health officials say can be contested in the purple (most restrictive) tier of pandemic reopening to start practices as early as Feb. 1.
Those sports are cross country, golf, tennis, track and field and swimming and diving.
The CCS, which extends from King City to San Francisco, approved a plan that will
allow sports that are permitted in the purple tier to start practices as early today for all sports in Season 1 and Season 2. Practices must follow social distancing guidelines, with masks and outside.
The NCS, which stretches from Alameda County to the coastal side of the Oregon border, is allowing sports that can be played in the purple tier to move from Season 2 to Season 1 in order to get more kids involved.
The CCS executive committee’s decision is final.
The NCS’s plan is pending approval of the section’s Board of Managers, which will meet Jan. 29.
NCS commissioner Pat Cruickshank said in a memo to member schools that the agreement gives “leagues the autonomy to build their season of sport calendars around the guidance from the California Department of Public Health, the local counties that their league resides in, and the approval of their member schools and districts.
“If approved as presented, leagues will set their seasons of sport based on the color tier that their county resides in and the sports allowed in that tier. Purple sports will have the ability to go off first once the county and schools have approved it. Then once counties move into the red tier, the league will be allowed to begin that season of sport at a time that best fits them. The same will be done for the orange and yellow tier sports.”
The CCS already permitted leagues to move sports between seasons if need be, a clause that could be used if leagues decide to move some sports up from Season 2 into Season 1 in order to get more athletes involved as soon as possible.
The NCS said there will be no section, regional or state playoffs for its schools this school year and that competition will not begin until local
stay-at-home orders are lifted.
The CCS eliminated playoffs for its Season 1 sports in order to allow for more sports to participate in a truncated season. Plus, playoffs weren’t feasible with the restrictions.
“Let’s be honest, there’s no way (playoffs) were going to happen,” CCS commissioner Dave Grissom said Friday. “The purpose is to allow for more flexibility to create schedules to meet the needs of the schools.”
Health guidelines prohibit tournaments and do not allow competitions between schools that are further than one county away from each other. While the NCS canceled playoffs for both seasons, the CCS is keeping the option open for Season 2 playoffs in the event that restrictions are lifted in time for them to go on.
The overarching issue remains that no competitions will begin until California’s stay-at-home order is lifted in the Bay Area. Currently, all counties in both the NCS and CCS are in the most-restrictive purple tier as the state battles a devastating coronavirus surge.
But lifted stay-at-home orders in the greater Sacramento area are giving Bay Area officials some hope. Right now, the only sport that can be played without a schedule realignment -- a purple tiered sport that falls in Season 1 -- is cross country.
Here’s a breakdown of the tiered sports:
Purple: Cross country, golf,
tennis, track and field, swimming and diving.
Red: Baseball, softball, girls lacrosse, field hockey.
Orange: Football, boys lacrosse, soccer, water polo, badminton, volleyball.
Yellow: Competitive cheerleading, basketball, wrestling.
In both sections, football will have to wait until counties reach the orange tier before it can start.
The NCS says that football season must end by April 17 for practice to start as scheduled on Aug. 9 for the 2021 fall season.
The most important thing for officials was to make practices open for all student-athletes when possible and keep the opportunity for competition in play.
“First and foremost, let’s get kids out and be active,” Grissom said. “From a socialemotional wellbeing standpoint, our kids generally are struggling. This pandemic has been brutal on everyone, but it’s been really hard for our kids and we have a responsibility for them if we can do things in a safe way. Everyone wants our kids to get back on the field if we can.”
“Let Them Play” rallies High school athletes, parents and coaches held rallies at high schools across California on Friday afternoon to advocate for a return to play amid the pandemic.
The “Let Them Play CA” rallies were sparked from a Facebook group organizing a long list of California high schools who would host the rallies in hopes of getting local officials’ attention with a plea to get their kids back in sports. Parents from a handful of highs schools in the Bay Area participated at their kids’ school.
At De La Salle in Concord, a crowd of some 75 concerned parents and others gathered to share their message.
“This is not just about my kid, it’s about tall the kids of California and especially the less fortunate kids,” Anouschka Wardy, a parent of three from Lafayette, said. “Sports for them are incredibly important to keep them off the streets and out of trouble and focused on their school work.”
Wardy says her two oldest sons played football at De La Salle. She fears her youngest, who is a senior year, is missing on a life-changing opportunity.
“Obviously not playing his senior year for a program like De La Salle is life changing in this family,” Wardy said. “He won’t have the same memories that his brothers had, but he put in the same amount of work.”
Mike Powers has a senior and sophomore at De La Salle who have been playing football since they were seven years old. He argues the state should recognize the detriment a lost football season is for kids across the state.
“It’s a mental health issue,” he said. “There are a lot of kids who can play in college and this is their only avenue to do that. It goes both ways. We hope they can get tape so colleges can see these kids play.
“The other component is the mental health of the kids. It touches on both of those. We’re two, three weeks away from having to cancel the (football) season or have a season, so we’re trying to get into the governor’s ear with some science and stats behind it. And some mental health stats too.”