LAKE COUNTY — Citing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases around the state, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced late Tuesday afternoon that the earliest traditional fall sports such as football and volleyball could start would be sometime next month.
While fall sports teams normally have completed their season by now, the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out the entire 2020 spring sports season forced the CIF to move the traditional August opening date for fall sports to Dec. 7, which is next Monday. Football, volleyball, cross county and soccer teams have had that date circled on their calendars since July. Now they’ll have to wait even longer, all with no guarantee that a season will happen should the pandemic worsen heading into the winter months.
“I think the needle is pointed now towards not playing,” Middletown High School varsity football coach Bill Foltmer said Tuesday during a voluntary team workout. “I hope I’m wrong.”
Added Foltmer, who has been coaching varsity football at Middletown since 1985, “I am disappointed but saw it coming, I am hoping that with the scientists now saying that kids need to be in school, and vaccines are on the way it will move the needle towards sports and extra-curricular activities having a chance to actually happen. Our kids have already missed too much.”
The CIF said its latest decision was based on not yet having updated guidelines from the California Department of Public Health concerning sporting activity. County sports teams are already extremely limited in what they can do during voluntary workouts, including no sharing of balls and a limit on the number of athletes and coaches who can work out indoors at the same time. Social distancing is another requirement – some teams enforce it better than others – while facemask use is also suggested although it’s not a uniform practice among the county teams.
“The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) does not expect the CDPH (Department of Public Health) will issue any guidance allowing for schools to return to full practice and competition until after January 1, 2021, at the earliest,” according to a CIF media release. “Thus, all full practice and competition start dates are officially on hold until updated guidance is issued.”
If the traditional fall sports do hold a season early next year, there will be no CIF regional- and state-sponsored playoffs, according to the CIF. As for the North Coast Section (NCS), one of 10 sections that make up the CIF and the section Lake County teams belong to, it will decide in the coming weeks if playoffs — full or modified — will take place for the traditional fall sports teams. The NCS Executive Committee meets on Dec. 14.
“By canceling Regional and State Championship events, more student-athletes will have the opportunity to participate in a longer season, rather than a truncated season with Regional and State post-season play for a limited number of schools,” according to the CIF press release.
In other words, county teams could be looking at a somewhat normal number of regular-season games, but with reduced or possibly even no playoffs to follow depending on what the NCS decides to do.
With traditional winter and spring high school sports looking at a mid-March start to their seasons, there is precious little time left for the fall sports season to happen, and further delays may result in the entire season being lost.
“The CIF is confident this decision is a necessary and reasonable action for our member schools, student-athletes, and school communities in light of the current statewide crisis,” according to the CIF press release.
“I think it’s not really a surprise, but I’m grateful that the CIF is at least keeping the door open for some type of competition,” said Upper Lake High School varsity girls basketball head coach Mike Smith, who is also the former varsity football head coach and athletic director at the school.
Upper Lake High School issued its own press release following the CIF announcement Tuesday.
“We know that if we continue to work together and take the proper precautions, following the county and state protocols, we can continue to keep out student-athletes engaged in their physical and mental health. These are challenging times, absolutely, but the resiliency of our student-athletes and coaches these past eight months continues to be amazing,” according to the school release.
