The state has established a plan for fall sports in high school. What’s next

Syracuse, NY – The playbook is there, packed with strategies and contingencies to get New York State’s 198,000 high school athletes to the field sometime in the next few months.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced its plan Thursday after another meeting of its coronavirus task force. The target date for the start of fall athletics was pushed back a month, tentatively until September 21. Fall state tournaments have been canceled.

“I would say this is the most difficult situation I have been a part of in my professional career,” said Robert Zayas, executive director of NYSPHAA. “I don’t sleep at night. I woke up yesterday at 4 in the morning, I woke up this morning at 3:45 to start the day and plan and strategize. It is also the most challenging situation that our school superintendents, our school principals, our athletic directors, our teachers, our coaches have been a part of. We are all doing it together. “

Thursday’s most important conclusion is that every syllable of NYSPHAA’s strategy remains extremely fluid. The state’s plan is exactly that, the suggestions are still subject to approval by the state department of education and governor Andrew Cuomo on reopening the schools, as well as the coronavirus itself.

Here is a summary of some of Zayas’ key points from Thursday’s conference call:

What is the decision timeline like?

“Right now, we are well aware that the reason these decisions are being made by state officials is to continue to reduce the spread, is to address infection rates, and in that way we can return to a certain sense of normalcy responsable”. conduct. Therefore, there is no definitive timeline on when we will know when we can resume interscholastic athletics. We hope it will be soon, but again, these decisions are based on data and as a precaution for student athletes, coaches, and school administrators. ”

What is allowed now?

Workouts and school practices for school sports are not allowed yet.

“At this time, interscholastic athletics, due to the orientation they gave us on Monday, is basically on hold. And that’s according to the New York State Department of Health. That refers to school districts that host such programs, “said Zayas.

What about sports captains doing informal workouts?

“I think we should be very careful in any type of meeting that is held. There is a big difference between a group of students coming together and then if there are camps that are being housed and operated by people who have given a lot of thought to those camps. So I think we just have to do it, as we are doing it in many different facets of our lives, we must be very aware of who we are spending time with, how we are spending time with those people and what parameters of a perspective is being implemented of security “.

Why was the date of September 21 chosen as the initial goal?

“It was just an opportunity to give our schools the opportunity to have students have an academic mindset, to be able to address social distancing, facial masks, and to analyze and implement all the guidance they have been receiving. I thought an additional four weeks added to the time frame would be beneficial to our schools this year. ”

Could fall sports be extended to the programming vacuum created by the cancellation of the state game?

“If we can have a fall sports season, it could essentially last 15 weeks, as our fall sports schedule is extended right now.” How likely is that? I’m not sure. But those would be the parameters that we would be seeing. “

Can you play some sports without contact if you can’t play more physical sports?

“If we were given the green light for low-risk or non-contact sports in the fall, we might have cross-country swimming and tennis and girls, but not be able to host soccer, field hockey, soccer and volleyball.” ? That is probably a likely scenario that could happen. And if that happened, that would be the catalyst to go to the condensed seasonal model to preserve those four fall sports that couldn’t be played at the time. “

What happens to overlapping schedules if the state has to go to a condensed season?

If fall time cannot be played as scheduled, the state will attempt to work the three sports seasons in the second half of the school year. Winter sports would be played from January 4 to March 4. 13, followed by fall sports from March 1 to May 8 and spring sports from April 5 to June 5. 12)

“If I could add more weeks a year, I certainly would,” said Zayas. “The problem we have is if we are going to go to the condensed season model, and this model is also being used by various state high school athletic associations across the country, if we have to go with the condensed season model we will see an overlap of approximately four weeks between Season Two, Fall Sports, and Season Three, Spring Sports. Fall Sports in Season Two may not begin before March 1, and may be too soon due to field conditions and bad weather.

“And right now, we have to do spring sports in mid-June because of the Regents exams and graduations. Therefore, we are in a time-constrained situation if we are to be able to offer those opportunities for participation for students. “

Can an athlete compete in more than one college sport at the same time?

“That will depend on a school district or a section. At the state high school athletic association, we have no rules or regulations that prevent a student from playing soccer and football at the same time, or wrestling and basketball in the same season. As we discuss some of the questions and some of the challenges that may arise, if we are to use the condensed season model, we will be flexible and take student athletes as our primary focus. and our top priority. “

What happens to athletes who have to choose between overlapping sports if the seasons are condensed?

“It is certainly not a good situation. I’ve already been seeing things on social media and that seems to be one of the biggest criticisms of what a condensed seasonal format could be. But my main goal as executive director is to give all student athletes the opportunity to participate in all sports.

“Now, will decisions have to be made? Unfortunately, that will probably happen. But I think it’s a much better alternative than having to tell students, as we did in March, that their season was completely canceled. My goal is to preserve every sports season for every student-athlete in New York State if state officials give us the opportunity to do so. “

If the three seasons are condensed after January 1, could there be state tournaments in those sports?

“I think it is too early to determine that. If we can offer a season and then have some kind of climactic event, I think it would be a great achievement. “

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Lindsay Kramer is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Do you have a comment or idea for a story? She can be contacted by email at [email protected].