On July 20th, the CIF North Coast Section (NCS) announced that upcoming school sports seasons have been pushed back. The earliest we can expect our fall sports to start is this coming December.

The new sports schedule was based around this year’s hybrid system. COVID cases are still rising, so this decision had to made for the health of our athletes and coaches. 

“My teammates and I understand that safety is important, so postponing the season was the best response to the situation. We are grateful that they didn’t cancel our entire season,” said AV volleyball player Colette Wogsland (‘21).

This decision not only affects fall sports, but winter and spring sports as well. The new seasons will be busy. There will be many events and practices going on simultaneously, so there are possibilities of scheduling conflicts.

Coaches and athletes will have to adjust and be mindful of teams that they didn’t have to consider before.

Take tennis, for example: the girls and boys teams will now have to share the already-limited courts in the spring.

“It could be kind of fun for us because we should be sharing the courts with the boys tennis team, so we could play with some different people. There is obviously going to be some scheduling things, where we are trying to get girls Varsity, girls JV, boys Varsity, and boys JV onto the court at different times,” said AV tennis player Kaitlyn Peng (‘21).

When the sports schedule was still up in the air, some of the biggest worries concerned the football season. Attending football games is an important part of student culture, and the events draw the biggest student crowds of all AV sports.

NCS recognized the value of high school football programs, and agreed that it was important to postpone the season rather than fully cancel it. Section regular-season games will begin on February 11th, section playoffs on April 10th, and Regional/State championships on April 17th. 

“With football being rescheduled, my teammates and I will have to overcome playing in the winter but looking on the bright side we get a  of extra moths to perfect our craft to be the best we can become,” said EJ Thomson (‘22).

Student athletes are facing an unprecedented situation; the coronavirus affects recruitments, scholarships, and so many other opportunities. However, colleges and organizations like the NCSA are doing their best to adjust and keep their systems on track. They understand that athletic programs are changing right now, and they are doing their best to make sure that students aren’t penalized for those changes.

The decision to push back sports might be disappointing, but it was one that had to be made. Luckily, the schedule stills allows for every sport to have a season. The seasons will be later, and they will be different, but at least they will there.

“I was very sad to hear [boys soccer] was going to be delayed. However, it will be nice to have some warmer weather in the spring. Overall, I am just happy that we get to have a season at all,” said Justin Hunter (‘21).