Restart of high school sports season up in the air as of Monday

If all had gone to plan, the Fallbrook Union High School Warriors varsity football team would be playing it's first game of the season on Friday, Jan. 8.

Unfortunately, not much has gone to plan in San Diego County, Southern California and the rest of the state with the COVID-19 pandemic running rampant.

An expected update from the California Department of Public Health regarding the restart of high school sports competition had not yet been publicized, as of Monday, Jan. 4.

Subsequently, the Jan. 25 tentative start date planned by the California Interscholastic Federation and its member sections, which was put on hold in early December, was still up in the air.

There was an expectation that new information would come over the next few days with a plan on whether to go forward or readjust the tentative schedule.

There have been no high school competitions since April 3, 2020, when CIF-SDS announced that all spring sports would halt competition through the end of the school year, effectively ending the season before it really got started.

As attention turned toward the 2020 fall season, CIF issued a statement in June regarding summer training.

"As our member schools begin planning for the reopening of school, the CIF, in collaboration with our 10 Sections, will be determining by July 20 if fall sports will continue as currently scheduled," the statement read. "The CIF is prepared to offer alternative calendars if it is determined by July 20 that fall sports may not start as scheduled due to ongoing public health and safety concerns."

San Diego Section Commissioner Joe Heinz told the San Diego Union-Tribune June 12 that football practices are tentatively scheduled to begin July 30. Girls volleyball, cross country, girls golf, girls tennis and boys water polo will start Aug. 1.

But on July 20, CIF, along with the help of the 10 regional sections, announced that there would be a modified sports season schedule for the upcoming school year that breaks the sports into two groups – fall and spring – instead of the traditional three group system.

"It is anticipated that most section start dates will commence in December 2020 or January 2021," the statement reads.

Boys and girls cross country, football, field hockey, gymnastics, competitive cheer, boys and girls volleyball, and boys and girls water polo were to begin competition in either December or January.

The first football games would be held Jan. 8 and practices could begin Dec. 14. Boys volleyball was to start games Dec. 12 and girls volleyball on Dec. 19. Water polo games were to start Dec. 21 for boys and Dec. 28 for girls.

Boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls golf, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, and boys and girls wrestling were expected to begin competition in March.

Then on Aug. 14, CIF-SDS released the Master Calendar for the 2020-2021 Seasons of Sport, as well as the temporary adjustments to state and section bylaws 600-605 by the board of managers.

The momentum was building and athletes were working out on their own to get ready for the upcoming season – until CIF-SDS pumped the brakes on those plans.

On Dec. 3, CIF-SDS issued a statement that read, "As of today, the Official Start Date for Season 1 Sports is on hold (TBD) until the point updated Youth Sports guidance is released from the California Department of Public Health," the memo, sent by Commissioner Joe Heinz and Assistant Commissioner Todd Cassen, said. "Based upon the current guidance released from the state on August 3, 2020, competitions are not allowed in youth sports (high school), all practices are limited to conditioning/skill improvement, and must remain within a stable cohort of 14 student athletes or less."

Within the statement from CIF-SDS Commissioner Joe Heinz said they expected the CDPH would reassess the Jan. 25 return to competition date on Jan. 4.

With the new guidance from the state health department, the CIF will have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how sports could be played this school year, if at all.

"That conversation will be between sections and then we will take what (CIF) Southern Section does and either do something very similar," Fallbrook Union High School Athletic Director Patrick Walker said on Monday. "There's definitely some differences between what the Southern Section does and what (San Diego Section) do."

"This whole tier system and us being in purple, there are tiers with what sports can actually play in which colors. I think it's going to be this combination of San Diego sending something that's solid in where we're headed."

Even then, Walker said, he wasn't confident about the impending news for student-athletes.

"There is a drop dead date, with this whole purple and how crazy it is with hospitals and all that, I just can't imagine them giving the green light," he said.

But he's hopeful the powers that be can find a way to make something happen for the athletes.

"All we can do is sit and wait," Walker said. "But if you heard me in the board meetings, I've had great conversations (about) just to give the kids the opportunity to play. If we do get into March, and we're doing better, just having some mini seasons, maybe five, six week seasons, especially spring sports who lost out last year, an opportunity to play would be awesome."

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].