WW-P to play only in-house winter sports

Katharine Dobinson admits that her first year as chief athletics director for the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district “has been really challenging.”

Since former AD Ken Mason left and Dobinson rose to that position, WW-P has canceled its fall sports season, has seen the 11-year varsity boys’ soccer coach at its high school South take the same job at Notre Dame High, and now the district has decided to hold its winter sports in-house.

Blame at least two of those three on the coronavirus pandemic. But the last two seasons have not been a time any new athletics director would want to jump in.

“We have not called off the winter sports season,” Dobinson said. “Our basketball and fencing teams will be practicing and competing with a modified schedule, but only against teams within our district.”

Dobinson is in a unique situation in Mercer County because she handles two high schools — WW-P North and WW-P South. With COVID-19 concerns still rampant, that allows them to play against each other without just scrimmaging amongst themselves.

“This way we can keep up a level of competition while meeting the physical, emotional and social needs of our students,” said Dobinson, who added that the different levels of boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at the schools hope to meet three or four times during the NJSIAA’s shortened winter season, which runs from Jan. 26 through March 6.

They will not, however, be competing in the Colonial Valley Conference this winter, instead trying to pick up any necessary referees on the afternoons or nights when the CVC does not play.

“The decision came out last Wednesday just before I met with the other CVC athletics directors. I let them know at that point,” said Dobinson, whose basketball teams were supposed to be meeting on the CVC’s opening day — Jan. 26.

“That will not be happening,” she said. “As it is, we don’t start practice until Tuesday, Jan. 19. That’s the same day our students are scheduled to return to the classroom.”

Dobinson also announced hopes of having “virtual swim meets,” along with training for the swimming teams, while the ice hockey program, which is one team shared by the two high schools, switches to a “player development season,” holding intrasquad scrimmages, when they can, during their reserved ice time at Mercer County Park.

“We want to give all our players an opportunity to improve,” she said.

Plans for winter track and wrestling are still being worked out.

“I feel really good about this,” Dobinson said. “We recognize the need to keep our students active. I’m confident this will help.”

With 2020 finally in the rearview mirror, the hope is that, by spring, local sports may begin to return to a little more normalcy.

For that, the student-athletes, coaches, teachers, administrators and West WindsorPlainsboro’s newest athletics director cannot wait.