Just in From CIF

[Norcal_Fan]

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — In today’s COVID-19 press briefing, Governor Newsom and Dr.
Mark Ghaly from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) disclosed that the
release of updated youth sports guidance has been postponed. Therefore, the current
guidance remains in effect, and CIF competitions are not allowed until new guidance is
provided.

So it looks like no Dec 7 start date for football..I wonder how this impacts other season 2 sports

 

[Streak One]

Football will drive this so it should impact all other sports.

Tough news

 

[Norcal_Fan]

If football season won't start till the new year, i wonder how it'll impact the season 2 sports schedule?

 

[Streak One]

Smaller schools will have trouble fielding some teams because there are so many crossover athletes. Among other issues.

 

[ClayK]

I think CIF has several options:

1) Cancel all sports for 2020-21 -- Simple, to-the-point, and with clear justification. Of course CIF and the sections lose a lot of money, and may have to lay off staffers, etc.

2) Cancel just the "fall" sports and see if the "spring" sports can be played after the vaccine begins to be distributed and the presumed winter surge lessens -- The logic here would be that spring sport athletes lost the 2019-20 season while fall sport athletes didn't. So even though it seems "unfair," it just balances the scales a bit. Of course, football is the big moneymaker, so that's an issue.

3) Delay everything and shorten all seasons -- The negative here is that sports would have to overlap significantly, and also postseason -- where CIF and the sections generate their income -- would have to be truncated as well. This allows kids to have some sort of athletic experience, but it might just be a league season.

4) Dig deep and allow sports on a case-by-case basis -- Tennis, for example, is outdoors with no contact and there's little reason to believe it would cause a problem. Same with golf. Basketball and wrestling, indoor contact sports, would not be allowed. Baseball, softball and track all make sense in this scenario, but football and volleyball are on the bubble.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

I think CIF has several options:

1) Cancel all sports for 2020-21 -- Simple, to-the-point, and with clear justification. Of course CIF and the sections lose a lot of money, and may have to lay off staffers, etc.

2) Cancel just the "fall" sports and see if the "spring" sports can be played after the vaccine begins to be distributed and the presumed winter surge lessens -- The logic here would be that spring sport athletes lost the 2019-20 season while fall sport athletes didn't. So even though it seems "unfair," it just balances the scales a bit. Of course, football is the big moneymaker, so that's an issue.

3) Delay everything and shorten all seasons -- The negative here is that sports would have to overlap significantly, and also postseason -- where CIF and the sections generate their income -- would have to be truncated as well. This allows kids to have some sort of athletic experience, but it might just be a league season.

4) Dig deep and allow sports on a case-by-case basis -- Tennis, for example, is outdoors with no contact and there's little reason to believe it would cause a problem. Same with golf. Basketball and wrestling, indoor contact sports, would not be allowed. Baseball, softball and track all make sense in this scenario, but football and volleyball are on the bubble.

or do it like college baseball and extend into late June or July and plan the other 1-2 seasons accordingly. It would hinder Summer AAU/travel ball but kids could theoretically still have a season..

 

[ClayK]

There are some logistical issues involved in playing high school sports after the high schools are no longer in session that might crop up -- not to mention that not every athlete will stick around once school is out.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

There are some logistical issues involved in playing high school sports after the high schools are no longer in session that might crop up -- not to mention that not every athlete will stick around once school is out.

I think kids would stick it out...they've been sitting since march. What kind of logistical issues do you see?

 

[ClayK]

At most schools, an administrator is required to be at every game ... don't know how that would play out during the summer.

At schools where trainers are required for home games, they might not be available without extra pay.

I would assume insurance policies go year-round, but that too could be an issue.

I don't think any of these is a dealbreaker, but there are details that have to be worked out.

 

[OnBall8]

what about the possibility of the logistical issue of college athletes having to report in the summer after graduation. Many enroll in summer school and get on campus for workouts not long after graduation. If it's the playoffs, I'm sure that most coaches would be understanding and support the players finishing their high school careers, but the colleges own them once they graduate. Depending on how many games are left by then, the colleges might want them to skip that...

 

[CW Golden Eagles]

what about the possibility of the logistical issue of college athletes having to report in the summer after graduation. Many enroll in summer school and get on campus for workouts not long after graduation. If it's the playoffs, I'm sure that most coaches would be understanding and support the players finishing their high school careers, but the colleges own them once they graduate. Depending on how many games are left by then, the colleges might want them to skip that...

Colleges can't be flexible because they can't work with the new freshmen until they are enrolled and they can't enroll (in summer school) until they are done with their high school stuff. So it would have a huge impact because the better teams have the better players--players going onto college. I would guess a large percentage if not all of D1 kids would not be able to play HS in late June/early July.

 

[OnBall8]

Colleges can't be flexible because they can't work with the new freshmen until they are enrolled and they can't enroll (in summer school) until they are done with their high school stuff. So it would have a huge impact because the better teams have the better players--players going onto college. I would guess a large percentage if not all of D1 kids would not be able to play HS in late June/early July.

Exactly.. if its the state finals in the second week of June most coaches would say "go get em".. but that would be very few kids playing at that time. If there are still a significant amount of games possibly taking a month and a half or 2 months.. no dice..

Lets hope that we get even a truncated season

 

[straightline50]

There will not be a state championship in basketball. As far as players sticking around and playing, 50/50 at best. The smart thing would be to cancel high school sports and focus on fall 2021.