Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Sweet Home High School coaches and administrators are re-adjusting their plans for the next school year after the Oregon School Activities Association announced last week that it has opted to schedule truncated winter, fall and spring seasons – in that order – with actual contests starting in the new calendar year and running through late June.
Under the new schedule, the winter sports of basketball, wrestling and swimming can begin official practices Dec. 28, with their first contests Jan. 11 and culminating week March 1-7. Basketball teams will have 14-game regular seasons.
The fall sports of football, soccer, volleyball and cross country can start practicing Feb. 22 and will play their first contests March 8. All have culminating weeks of April 26 through May 2, except for football, which extends to May 3-9. Football will have a seven-game regular season.
The spring sports of baseball, softball, track, golf and tennis will begin practices April 19, play their first contests starting May 3 and have culminating weeks June 21-27. Baseball and softball teams will have 18-game regular seasons.
All of this is predicated on COVID-19 guidance from the Governor’s Office and Oregon Health Authority. According to current state rules, schools can’t open for in-person learning until the statewide COVID-19 testing rate is at or below 5 percent for three consecutive weeks and, locally, there are 10 or fewer cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period.
In addition, counties must meet benchmarks to open their schools. For three weeks in a row, they must have 10 or fewer cases per 100,000 over a seven-day period and a test positivity rate of 5.0 percent or below over a seven-day period.
“It hasn’t stopped,” said Sweet Home Athletic Director Nate Tyler Monday. “It keeps turning on us.”
OSAA’s goal was to “try to maximize opportunities for students, providing three distinct seasons for schools later in the year,” OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber told Jerry Ulmer of OSAAToday.
Two weeks ago, the OSAA pushed back the first contest date of the fall season to Sept. 23, keeping the first date of fall practice at Aug. 17. But due to state restrictions for COVID-19, the vast majority of Oregon high schools will start the year with online learning, casting doubts on fall sports and activities.
By delaying the first practices until Dec. 28 and the first contests until Jan. 11, the OSAA is hopeful that more schools will have a chance to compete.
“Nearly all schools are going to have to spend a significant part of the fall in comprehensive distance learning,” Weber said, “and that will present challenges in terms of the ability to offer opportunities to students in some areas. So moving the season allows for those opportunities.”
Each sport will have a seven-week regular season followed by a “culminating week.” Weber said that the specifics of the culminating weeks are still to be determined.
“We’ll have to work with our membership on what that would look like. In our football contingency groups, they said that maybe that could be a bowl game. And that type of approach could be done in other activities, as well. We definitely wanted to leave room for the opportunity of some type of culminating event.”
Football Coach Dustin Nichol, speaking during a voluntary football workout Monday evening, said he is glad OSAA hasn’t canceled sports altogether.
He acknowledged that it will be tricky to get a football team ready right after basketball season, but “I’m glad they didn’t take the kibosh to it. We just have to play within the rules and do the best we can with what we’re given.
“The main thing is, at least kids are getting out and doing something instead of being in their rooms, twiddling their thumbs, playing video games,” he said. “Interaction is important.”
Wrestling Coach Steve Thorpe echoed that perspective, noting that suicide and mental depression rates among youths are increasing. He said the preparation for competition, the interaction among athletes and coaches, is just as important as “getting out there and beating somebody.”
“It’s being involved in something.”
The period between Aug. 31 and Dec. 27 has been dubbed Season 1.
During that time sports and activities will be under the discretion of local schools and districts, and will be permitted, provided they fall in line with guidance from the Governor’s Office and OHA. OSAA policies regarding out-of-season coaching limitations will not apply, although other OSAA policies will remain in effect.
“We think that’s just as important,” Weber said of Season 1. “We’ll hopefully get kids an opportunity to get re-engaged and participating. We feel like it’s really important to their physical and mental health. That’s a big piece.”
Tyler said Monday he has yet to connect with coaches on what the possibilities might be. Most of the fall sports and basketball have already been holding voluntary workouts.
“I imagine basketball will want to have open gyms and it sounds like volleyball club is moving to fall. It’s all contingent on the other cities, state regulations and stuff.
“We’re going to try to proceed as normally as we can. We’ll take a couple of weeks off at the start of school so kids can transition to distance learning, get a sense of normalcy, routine. Then we’ll pick up the workouts.”
Athletes from all sports could benefit from Season 1, especially those who missed out when spring sports were canceled, Weber said.
“They could train, they could have practice, and in some cases they could have contests against other schools in their local area or region,” Weber said. “We think it provides opportunities for kids to get back participating while preserving the seasons for later in the school year.”
Tyler said Sweet Home is still working on figuring out what opportunities might be out there with other Linn County schools for scrimmages or other competition.
“I would like to,” he said. “In all honesty, I would like to if my coaches could make it happen.”
Some have already made it happen.
Thorpe recently returned from Utah, where Sweet Home wrestlers competed in a tournament.
“We followed guidelines and it worked,” he said. “I think our state can find ways to get kids competing.”
He said the current situation is a test of what he’s been preaching to his athletes for 29 years: “How you respond to adversity marks your character.”
“We’re so fortunate right now to have the leadership we have in our school, in our athletic program,” Thorpe said.
“I think our athletic director and superintendent have 100 percent worked their tails off to try to engage kids with teachers and coaches.
“What gives me hope in all of this is that I think OSAA gets the mental health aspect of this for kids and parents. But I don’t think other people do. For OSAA to put a plan out there is a step in the right direction.”