The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Prep schools press ‘pause’ on athletics
Less than 24 hours remained until Danny Coughlin and the Gilmour volleyball team could begin the 2021 fall season.
The Lancers advanced to last year’s Division II state semifinals, where they fell in a fierce five-set match to eventual state champion Bishop Fenwick.
At Hawken, two-time state cross country champion Ella Gilson prepares to chase a three-peat to conclude her illustrious high school running career.
Nearby at University, the Preppers’ boys cross country team comes off a state appearance and the football team seeks a return to the postseason.
The official start of those pursuits must wait.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommended July 30 that schools begin the school year remotely and that extracurricular activities be suspended during that time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
A day later, heads of institutions belonging to the Cleveland Council of Independent Schools opted to “pause” athletics and extracurriculars in compliance with the county’s recommendation.
CCIS is comprised of Gilmour, Hawken, University, Hathaway Brown, Laurel, Lawrence, Ruffing Montessori, The Lillian and Betty Ratner Montessori School and Urban Community School.
Families from the respective schools were informed of the pause July 30 via a letter signed by all nine heads of school.
Gilmour athletic director Sean O’Toole, University athletic director Sean McDonnell, Hawken athletic director Jim Doyle and administrators from each school spoke late July 30 then reconvened the morning of July 31.
“In the end, it’s just a pause,” O’Toole said. “We’re going to kind of evaluate daily and we feel we’re a safe campus. We have our procedures, our guidelines, our restrictions, you know we really felt good about coming into the fall season. Obviously the Board of Health, those are professionals making a recommendation to us on what is in the best interest for our student-athletes.”
The OHSAA disseminated its fourth memo in nine days the afternoon of July 31, affirming its intent for schools to begin the fall season Aug. 1.
In line with recommendations handed down in various counties, many schools already opted to suspend the start of fall sports until a time to be determined.
Gilmour plans, at present, for students to choose whether between in-person or virtual learning. In the event all learning becomes remote, O’Toole confirmed athletics would also be suspended.
University School, which has its K-8 campus in Shaker Heights and high school in Hunting Valley, is preparing to begin the school year with in-person learning five days a week. McDonnell agreed with the decision to heed what the Board of Health recommended. “I think, as much as anything, the heads of schools at these independent schools wanted to be as mindful as possible with what the experts are sharing,” McDonnell said. “Yesterday, when the Board of Health’s recommendations came out — obviously they’re recommendations, not mandates — I think there was at least the necessity of let’s take some time and process and let’s think about what’s best and safest moving forward. I think the language was intentional — pause, we’re not canceling, we’re pausing.”
Hawken is yet to decide on a course of action to begin the school year as Doyle said the school is weighing a number of possibilities. Hawken’s Upper School is located on the edge of Cuyahoga County and the Lower School is in Lyndhurst.
Doyle called the decision to pause athletics heartbreaking.
He remains hopeful the unified delay will encourage communities to take measures necessary to help improve COVID-19 numbers in Cuyahoga County.
Ohio set a new singleday high of new cases of COVID-19 July 30, as 1,733 cases were reported to reach a total of 89,626 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We have a global pandemic and the Hawken community has not been immune to COVID-19,” Doyle said. “I think we all need to do our part to try to mitigate this disease and that means we all have to wear masks, we all have to socially distance and do what we need to do to try to get those numbers to come down.”
O’Toole, McDonnell and Doyle echoed that administrators and athletic personnel will remain in contact for the near future as they consistently evaluate the possibility to start their fall seasons.
As for Coughlin and other coaches around the area at schools where sports are suspended, they encourage their student-athletes to remain positive, stay together and do as much as they can to remain ready when a season can possibly begin.
“Whatever we can do to get to a postseason, we’re going to do it and I told the girls that,” Coughlin said.
“When all the stuff came out, I don’t think it surprised them because I’ve been talking to them a lot about this and I said, you guys have to be me with the rest of the group. Be positive, be encouraging, we’re going to play ... eventually.”