By the time you read this the calendar will be flipping to February. And for high school athletes that’s the holy grail. OSAA-approved practice can begin for football Feb. 8, with soccer, cross country and volleyball to follow Feb. 22. Games could start by March 1.
Maybe.
“We are anxious to return to play,” Stayton Athletic Director Darren Shryock told Our Town.
“The kids are the ones I feel so bad for. We can always adjust schedules, so from that aspect, it has not been hard. Having to continually tell our athletes things are postponed once again has been frustrating.”
Those February dates are written down in pencil. They can easily be erased. The COVID-19 case load in Oregon must drop. And Gov. Kate Brown must remove full-contact sports such as football from the forbidden list. It’s a tall order. But folks such as Shryock have to be prepared.
“We have a plan for all fall sports,” he said. “Even though we don’t have to, our league has decided to primarily play each other. We are going to crown a league champ whenever possible. As athletic directors, we decided to make things as ‘normal’ as we can during this weird year.”
Nothing exemplifies the high school sports disruption that has taken place more than an AD noting that fall sports is getting ready to start in February. There is a distinct, comforting rhythm to sports. Things happen at certain times. Kids start fall practice in August. They go indoors in winter to play basketball and wrestle. They had back outside in the spring and are done by graduation.
If the current OSAA schedule plays out as written, high school sports won’t end until June 26. In the meantime teams and coaches keep trying to find ways to get SOME of the work done.
“Outdoor sports have been doing some things here and there,” Shryock said.
“The weather has been pretty cooperative up to this point, so kids have been playing when they can. Indoor sports are currently prohibited, so that has been pretty frustrating for our athletes that compete indoors.”
With the lack of activity, comes some opportunities as well.
“The gym has been painted, and it looks fantastic,” Shryock said. “Plans are in the works to redo the floor probably this summer. We have a new Pixellot camera system installed at the football/soccer stadium and in the gym. This will allow us to livestream all the sports that take place in those venues.”
All positive, but somehow you get the sense that Shryock would give up the paint and cameras to be hosting Cascade this Friday in a hoops doubleheader with the Highlights dance team wowing the crowd at halftime.
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