Let them play.
That’s how Dave Stephan feels. The Clarence girls soccer coach said the lack of offseason workouts in high school sports is negatively impacting the emotional state of young athletes. But he remains hopeful the scholastic fall sports season will begin Sept. 21, as currently scheduled.
“I’m still thinking very positively about the fall,” Stephan said. “I’ll be just as disappointed as they are if they don’t get to go back.”
On Friday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo gave schools the green light to open for in-person learning in the fall, pending approval of re-opening plans by health officials. While students can potentially return, interscholastic sports remain in limbo.
“There is no interscholastic sports approved yet. That’s going to be an ongoing discussion,” said Jim Malatras, the president of Empire State College who is part of the governor’s reimagining education advisory council.
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The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced late last month that it moved the start date of fall sports from Aug. 24 to Sept. 21 because of uncertainty regarding the reopening of schools because of the coronavirus pandemic.
NYSPHSAA spokesman Chris Watson said he believes there is hope fall sports will begin Sept. 21.
“I think so,” Watson said. “At least the question was asked of the governor and his people. We weren’t given a definitive no. … I think it’s a positive that we can continue to talk to them and come up with a way for sports to come back.”
As of now, the wait continues, despite the NYSPHSAA and a number of athletic administrators advocating for voluntary outdoor workouts under the direction of coaches.
“There can be no offseason conditioning based on what they told us," Watson said. "We continue to be in a holding pattern based on when we can start again.”
The holding pattern has been in place since mid-March when the state canceled some regional and state championships in the winter sports and later canceled the spring seasons. The state has already canceled regional and state championships for the fall.
“I think it’s pretty sad that they’re even considering shutting things down,” Stephan said. “These kids need to be back out for their physical and emotional states. It bothers me they’re making this political and not scientific and the scientific says that children don’t get and carry this disease even remotely the way adults can. I think it’s sad that we can’t let kids be kids and go out and play.”
Stephan also is Buffalo District Commissioner for the youth soccer leagues in the area and noted those teams lost their league games but are gathering to practice and train.
“To be shut in and not be able to play or see your friends … I think it’s a wide-reaching problem that we don’t let these kids go back to normal,” Stephan sad. "My hope is they’re allowed to go play. I think it’s been proven we can keep our safe areas. I personally am not afraid to coach kids (during the pandemic).”
Williamsville South cross country coach Dan Syracuse said: "These kids have been waiting around forever. I just hope for their sake we can get it up and running soon.”
Syracuse said his team is in shape and ready to go.
“They’re ready to race," he said. "They’re tired of not being around the team. They want to start competing against people.”
If the Sept. 21 start date is not approved and the fall sports season is canceled, the NYSPHSAA has a contingency plan that calls for the three seasons to be condensed into 10-week sessions with winter sports, followed by the fall sports and then the spring sports. The tentative dates for fall and winter and winter and spring overlap, meaning athletes who play multiple sports would likely need to decide which sport to pursue.
Monsignor Martin Executive Director Pete Schneider said the plan for the league is to start Sept. 21.
"We’re waiting for more information to come from the governor’s office," Schneider said. "We’re just in a holding pattern until we get that information. If the governor comes out with a decision on interscholastic sports then we can go from there and make an educated decision as to when to restart."
