ADs not surprised by CIF statement
Solano County schools have to hit pause button until at least January
As it turned out, the number 7 wasn’t a lucky one for prep athletes and coaches around California.
Dec. 7 was the day when high school teams were set to begin official practice for Season 1 sports like football, volleyball, cross country and water polo. However, as coronavirus cases continue to spike in nearly every county, Dec. 7 went from hopeful to tentative as the weeks narrowed.
On Tuesday afternoon, the California Interscholastic Federation officially pushed pause on its return to play, announcing in a news release that it does not expect to receive California Department of Public Health guidelines before Jan. 1.
“Thus, all full practice and competition start dates are officially on hold until updated guidance is issued,” the CIF said.
The decision affects all Solano County high schools, including Vacaville, Will. C. Wood, Vanden, Dixon, Vacaville Christian and Buckingham Charter.
Three local athletic directors in the area were not caught off guard by the announcement.
“Unfortunately, yes, it was kind of expected,” said Vacaville High’s Mike Papadopoulos, also the Bulldogs’ football coach. “Right now we’re still pulling the positives out and keeping a number of safeguards in place for Season 1 sports to return in January.”
Papadopoulos said he and his coaches had already met with the players prior to Tuesday’s announcement, but they sent information to parents last night about the changes.
Like most of the high schools in the county, Vaca High has been conditioning in smaller groups with social distancing guidelines in place. He said the school will continue with that schedule.
“All you can do is re-work your calendar,” he said. “January is just five short weeks away. You can’t
really shut down for three weeks and then be unprepared when the kids put helmets on in January.”
T he CIF announced Tuesday it will remove all regional and state championships from the season that was to begin this month, clearing the way for more students to have a longer schedule.
Vanden athletic director Matt Bidou sees that as a positive change.
“I’m OK with that,” Bidou said. “I think it gives the kids a better chance to play their league games. I think all of the schools in Solano County have a chance to play their 11-week season.”
Bidou acknowledged that it’s possible that some non- league games may have to be scrapped, especially against opponents from other counties.
“Playing in the ( Monticello Empire League), we’re very lucky because every school is from Solano County,” he said. “We’re more in the driver’s seat than other leagues where you have schools from multiple counties.”
Bidou said there have been a lot of positives from the conditioning workouts for all of the Season 1 sports. Some of the Season 2 sports like soccer have also started conditioning, Bidou added. He mentioned that the student-athletes have to maintain their GPAs in order to stay eligible.
“They are paying attention and doing their distance learning,” he said. “If we didn’t have this, I’m not sure how they’d be doing. A coach can be kind of like a second parent. I don’t know where they’d be without them.”
Will C. Wood athletic director Mark Wudel said all the students miss the normalcy of a school year.
“This is so out of sorts,” he said. “They miss seeing their friends, they miss their teachers. We never thought we’d say it but kids are actually missing school. Some are missing sports, band, theater.”
Wudel doubles as the school’s boys basketball coach. He said Season 2 sports like his just started conditioning.
“All we can really do is run. We can’t share any equipment,” he said. “Things are going to be slow for a while. Hopefully, things don’t get worse.”
The CIF stressed safety in its statement on Tuesday:
“The CIF is confident this decision is a necessary and reasonable action for our member schools, student-athletes, and school communities in light of the current statewide crisis,” it stated. “This revision to the CIF State 2020-21 Season 1 Sports calendar offers our sections and leagues the flexibility and needed time to plan for the return to practice and competition once updated guidance is provided by the CDPH.”