Scott Fox and other CHS coaches are adapting to changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Coaches like to control things.
It’s how they set their teams up for success, both in the short term and long term.
So life in the time of coronavirus has to be especially frustrating for the men and women who work the sidelines at Coupeville High School, since so much control has been taken out of their hands.
While spring sports were outright cancelled during the first surge of COVID-19, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has been working hard to find a way to keep prep sports alive when the 2020-2021 school year begins.
Tuesday, the WIAA Executive Board released a plan in which the state would go from a standard three-season athletic calendar to one which in the year would be chopped into four parts.
If the plan holds, football, volleyball, and soccer move from fall to March, where they might be joined by cross country and boys tennis, if those “low-risk” sports are unable to play in September.
Basketball stays in the winter, and spring sports such as track and field, softball, baseball, and girls tennis hope to return along with the sun.
You can read more about the plan here:
WIAA tries to keep school sports alive
But, as WIAA officials admit, “everything is written in pencil” as the country deals with a pandemic which has claimed almost 150,000 lives in the United States, including 1,500 in Washington state.
Having had a few days to consider the new (possible) reality, Wolf coaches share their thoughts with us:
Marcus Carr (Football):
We expected this to happen. I am happy that it was moved to the spring and not canceled.
Would have hated for our seniors not to be able to play.
Hopefully things will be to a point where we can also have fans in the stands.
With the amount of hard work athletes put into practicing and getting better it would be a shame for them to compete with no one there to cheer them on.
We may have to wait a little longer but at least we know that a season is possible.
Scott Fox (Girls Basketball):
We still have a long way to go, but I’m excited that we have a plan in place to shoot for, no pun intended!
This modified season will be a welcome breath of fresh air for everybody.
We are used to playing in the winter so basketball isn’t as affected as the other sports; we just have to realize that everybody is in the same situation that we are in.
It will be nice to have Thanksgiving and Christmas off, then ramp up for basketball.
I told the kids that if we are the first sport out of the gate, let’s set the tone in our new league about Coupeville sports.
We’ll be ready!
Kyle Nelson (Girls Soccer):
I appreciate that WIAA is getting creative to try and give everyone an opportunity to play this year.
Plus, I am familiar with soccer in the spring.
Just excited for a chance to play in our new league, even if I have to wait a bit longer.
Brad Sherman (Boys Basketball):
I’m grateful for the WIAA effort to make this work given the circumstances.
Certainly I really feel for our guys (and all of our CHS athletes).
None of this is easy. And I don’t think many realize how much these kids are giving up.
But I think the message has to be: We can spend our time being frustrated over things we can’t control, or we can focus on the things we can.
The date and structure of our season changed. But at the end of the day, it’s a date.
What hasn’t changed is how hard our boys worked this summer.
It hasn’t changed the big goals they set for themselves this season. It hasn’t changed how much they love the game.
We (coaches and players) just have a little more time to prepare for the season.
I’m proud of our guys and how they’ve responded to the adversity, and the work so many of them chose to put in this summer.
I have no doubt this group will be ready to go whenever that date comes, and it’s deemed safe for athletes to return to play.
In June some of our guys, from various grade levels, met and were asked to develop a motto that would be unique to the 2020-21 team.
It just needed to fit them, align with team values, and align with their goals.
And after a while they came back to the coaches with: “Nothing for Granted.”
Pretty profound if you ask me.
Team camp cancelled. Tournament cancelled. Retreat cancelled. Practices highly regulated. And a season in limbo.
And the message/mantra they decide on as a group is one of gratitude. Pretty awesome.
So while a season delay is tough, I certainly think our guys are in the right mindset to tackle the challenge head-on.
Cory Whitmore (Volleyball):
What odd times we live in and no doubt there will be more curveballs thrown our way (had to throw in a sport analogy).
I guess my thinking is that there is a lot to be grateful for in light of this new information from the WIAA concerning the change in seasons.
Sure, these adjustments make for some serious changes in our normal routines and future plans, but I’m very thankful that we have the tentative plan of actually having a season.
We can be thankful that fall sports have been adjusted instead of cancelled outright, as our spring 2020 athletic programs experienced.
My heart goes out to all of the 2020 spring sport athletes, families, coaches and community members that were so looking forward to participating.
I’m cautiously hopeful that things will have improved greatly by the time our “Covid-season” rolls around in 2021 and we can get safely back to offering sports and activities for our Coupeville youth.
In the meantime, I’m going to try and focus on those things to be grateful for and encourage our team to try and do the same.
Knowing how important it is to keep kids active and social, we will definitely get creative to provide that within the safety of regulations.
It’s definitely hard to always “look on the bright side,” but I guess what else is there to do but be hopeful, grateful and take care of each other?
No doubt these kids and this community will bounce back.
