CIF officials say they’ll announce in July decision on restarting high school sports in fall
Normally, this is the time to unwind and vacation for those who work in education.
But little seems right or balanced for so many schools in California and those connected to them, from Chula Vista in the south right on through the Sacramento Valley and up to the Oregon border.
Summer instead means continuous brainstorming on how to reopen schools and restart activities and athletics amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since the initial school shut down in March, this has been all consuming, no question, and you can imagine what school superintendents, principals, coaches, teachers and so many are going through as they’re trying to put together a plan to return to education, a return to campus — and by the way, getting all these questions about athletics,” said Ron Nocetti, the executive director for the California Interscholastic Federation.
The CIF is the governing body for high school sports in the state. The CIF and commissioners from its 10 sections dotted across the state had discussions throughout the week on sports guidelines and announced on Friday that as a governing body it is “prepared to offer alternative calendars if it is determined by July 20 that fall sports may not start as schedule due to ongoing public health and safety concerns.”
Why that date? The CIF wrote in its release that July 20 offers a “reasonable time frame” for high schools in the state to prepare for a fall season, if there is a normal fall season.
If there is a significant spike in COVID-19 numbers in the state, or even just in certain areas, the domino effect could prompt county and state health officials to pump the breaks or slam on them for a return to campus. One line of thinking is if students are allowed on campus, then high school sports should be as well.
And this line of thinking: A massive increase in cases may keep schools closed.
The CIF guidelines for now does not include a return-to-competition phase. But by July 20, Nocetti and the 10 section commissioners believe that they will have a much more clear picture if sports schedules can start on time. If they cannot, “then what are the other alternatives that we can look into?” Nocetti said, suggesting that seasons could be pushed back later into the fall or perhaps with a January start date.
He added, “We just don’t know. It’s fluid.”
Holding onto sports
One thing that is clear is that no one in education is pushing to eliminate sports. That goes counter to the beliefs of coaches, teachers, administrators and superintendents of how engagement is part of the high school experience, critical for learning, development and enjoyment.
An online petition through Facebook has generated more than 14,000 signatures and nearly 10,000 followers to “Bring Back High School Athletics to Sacramento Area and Northern California Schools.” Fans, parents, alums and students have signed that petition. Scores of others have emailed principals, superintendents, the 10 section offices, the Sacramento-based CIF office and the county health department pleading for answers or demanding a restart to seasons.
Local superintendents have also met with area coaches to discuss.
“We receive all sorts of calls and emails, and we tell them that everyone involved in high school sports is doing everything they can to make this happen for student-athletes,” Nocetti said. “At the same time, our schools and school districts have to know when they can return before we can focus on narrowing down what our sports calendars are. there’s so much more information everyone needs, and that’s why we’re waiting until July 20. We could also announce something earlier. We want to be prepared for any scenario.”
Only private schools in Sacramento have conditioning
No sports are played on the high school calendar in June or July, but those are dates when football drills start.
The first football program in the state to start summer drills was Wheatland High School in late May. East Nicolaus, Sutter and Yuba City high have all started drills. Same with Hilmar. Modesto City schools have green-lighted schools to start football drills on Monday.
In Sacramento, the only schools that will start Monday with a team meeting to go over safety guidelines or protocols or to start drills are private schools, none of which have a particular school district and can be allowed if deemed safe by principals and the county health department. Bradshaw Christian, Capital Christian, Christian Brothers and Jesuit coaches will have drills and constant reminders of social distancing in drills — no packs of 50 at once — and outside campus.
“For the kids, it’s not just football but it’s the social things of being a teenager that’s important,” said Christian Brothers coach John Wiley. “We’re trying to give them an outlet, but these drills aren’t mandatory. Some parents may not feel safe to have their kids do this. We’ll remind our kids that they can’t hang out when done with conditioning, to go home, wash their clothes and take a shower.
“We want to make sure we’re following all the protocols and we’re doing everything we can to help lower that curve, and, hopefully, we get to play this fall.”
According to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, Southern California schools that had football conditioning workouts start this week include Los Alamitos, Sierra Canyon and Tustin.
Who makes the call on restarting?
One misconception is that the CIF and any of its 10 sections make the call on when schools can reopen or when sports conditioning drills can start.
Those decisions are made by the school districts, something Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod reminded parents, coaches and athletes in a statement: “I am sure they will follow the recommendations of state and local health authorities in arriving at the decisions that are in the best interests of their students and school communities.”
The Southern Section is the largest in the state with nearly 600 schools. It includes the most-populated district in the state in Los Angeles Unified with 735,000 students of all grades.
The second-largest section is the Sac-Joaquin Section that stretches from the outskirts of Merced and goes as far east as Placerville, as far north as Grass Valley and Yuba City and as far west as Fairfield.
Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest district in Northern California with 64,000 students, decided Tuesday its first day of school would be in August, pushing back its typical mid-July starting day. The decision largely affects students who attend schools with year-round schedules, where students attend classes for three months and take one month off.
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 12:58 PM.