CIF Southern Section sports delayed until December
The stadium at Norwalk High School is gaining progress with the hopes of the football team to use it when it is completed in December. The CIF recently released that all sports are postponed until January of 2021. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
NORWALK - Finally, a decision has been reached for high school sports. After months of speculation, rumors and lots of talk among coaches, the CIF State announced last Monday that high school sports would return in late December.
The CIF-Southern Section also released the sports schedule, with the schedule broken up into two seasons - Fall and Spring.
Fall sports are: boys/girls cross country, field hockey, football (8 and 11 man), gymnastics, competitive cheer, boys/girls volleyball and boys/girls water polo.
The Spring sports are: badminton, baseball, boys/girls basketball, competitive sport cheer, boys/girls golf, boys/girls lacrosse, boys/girls soccer, softball, boys/girls swimming & diving, boys/girls tennis, boys/girls track and field and boys/girls wrestling.
And, the big news is the return of football, with the first game on Friday January 8.
Even in this uneasy climate that we’re in, one bright spot will be the first home game at the new stadium on the Norwalk High School campus.
Construction is expected to be completed by November or December.
“It’s always about the safety of the kids, but that will be special having our first home game in our new stadium,” Norwalk Athletic Director David Snyder said. “We have to take measures about the kids' safety.”
Norwalk will open the season with it’s first home game on campus as it will host Bell on January 8.
“Absolutely, the idea of a new stadium will be very exciting,” Norwalk football coach Dean Gray said. “It will only be great if it’s a safe environment. Our number one priority will be safety first for the kids and everyone.
“When we do open up at the stadium, everything will be in place.”
After a meeting with the commissioners from all 10 sections, Southern Section commissioner Rob Wigod released a statement on the decision. The CIF-Southern Section is the largest in the state.
"From start to finish, the focus has been on how we can serve the young men and young women we are so fortunate to serve in the best way we possibly can, and I commend everyone involved for never wavering in their support of that philosophy," Wigod said.
Pushing the calendar ahead five months was partly due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement last Friday that halted on-campus instruction in the counties on the state’s COVID-19 watch list.
"The game-changer in all this is the ability for schools to be open," he added.
High school sports have been on hold since the middle of March and won’t restart until December 14, which is the first date for practice for Fall sports. That still gives almost five months before the start-up date.
The split seasons will continue into late June with the athletic calendar, the CIF State announced on its website.
The Southern Section released the following reconstructed schedule:
Two Seasons - Fall and Spring - In examining the most effective way to deliver Fall, Winter and Spring sports for the 2020-2021 school year, the decision was made to condense three seasons of sport into two seasons of sport, primarily to help with the spacing between particular sports and the overlap of certain sports between seasons.
Length of Regular Seasons - Regular seasons, some of which were 83 days (Soccer), 81 days (Basketball), 64 days (Football) and 57 days (Girls Volleyball) already had quite a range, in terms of the length of their seasons in previous years. We believe that to help with the overlap of seasons, affecting student-athletes, coaches and facilities, we would standardize the length of the regular seasons to approximately 72 days, for those who previously had more days than that, while leaving the others with less than 72 days alone. In doing so, we would help with the issues mentioned, but keep in mind that we are not imposing any reduction on the maximum number of allowable contests, per CIF Bylaw 1206, in any sport. The total number of days in some sports will be reduced, approximately 5%-12%, but schools can still play the same number of maximum allowable contests, if they choose, in that smaller window.
Section Championships - The 2020-2021 sports calendar includes full Section Championship experiences, which means the same number of champions in each sport, the same number of divisions in each sport and the same number of guaranteed entries from leagues advancing to the playoffs in each sport, as in previous years.
CIF Regional/State Championships - The CIF State Office has made the decision to streamline the CIF Regional and CIF State Championships competitions/tournaments to no longer than one week, once our Southern Section Championships have concluded. More details on format, dates, etc., will be forthcoming from the CIF State Office.
The CIF State office added the following in its release:
"We are continuously monitoring the directives and guidelines released from the Governor's Office, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, and local county health departments and agencies as these directives and guidelines are followed by our member schools/school districts with student health and safety at the forefront.”
In addition, the CIF has suspended any outside competition for the 2020-21 school year.
Athletic directors from Norwalk, Santa Fe and John Glenn commented on the CIF announcement, its effect on the student athletes and the massive scheduling and transportation issues that follow.
Norwalk AD David Snyder:
“We have started dates, but who knows what’s going to happen. I’m drawing up the schedule, but it’s up to the district (Norwalk-La Mirada Unified) and administration.
We’re going to have to be upbeat and positive.”
Santa Fe AD Steve Hendry:
“There are a lot of obstacles to making this work. I hate that kids are going to have to choose between sports (basketball and soccer and baseball and soccer in the same season). Fortunately, our coaches are going into this with the right attitude…. do what's best for the kids. We'll stay positive and do our best to make this work for them.”
John Glenn AD Linda Parra:
"It is definitely a relief to have a sports calendar to work towards. Most of us were anticipating a late start date. Now that we have some guidelines, we can all begin adjusting our schedules. The busy spring season will be difficult for athletes who were traditionally multi-sport athletes. Some athletes will have to make the decision to only focus on one sport during the spring season. With that, it is a bit of a concern if all of our athletic teams will have the numbers needed to compete. But we have a great staff at John Glenn, and I am confident that our team of coaches, staff and administrators will work together to provide the best experience possible for our student athletes.
We just concluded our 605 League meeting and we approved the new league schedules and dates. We will adjust our schedules and calendars too.”
Four coaches from Norwalk, Santa Fe and St.Paul all had their opinions on the announcement.
Norwalk football coach, Dean Gray:
“The first thing that I thought after the announcement was we have a date (December 14) and now we can prepare for all of these protocols.
The next five months will give us the ability to put in all of the training and protocol that is needed. I’ve taken the COVID-19 class for coaches from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). We’ll have all of the precautions in place at the stadium.”
Norwalk girls wrestling coach, Brian DeVries:
“We’re all in flux and knew what they (CIF) were saying. We’ll be in the Spring now, which gives us more time to recruit at our school. That will help us to look at it as a positive. The negative is we’re not on campus.”
Santa Fe basketball coach, Leonard Romero:
“I’ve never been to the March (basketball) finals. Now (the season) starts in March. It’s going to be interesting. I think in all fairness, it’s a once in a lifetime thing and don’t know how it’s going to end.
I’m still excited and I hope these kids get an opportunity to make it safe and get ready.
I’m just heartbroken for this kid (Joey Peralta) on what sport he will choose, basketball or baseball. It’s up to them (parents and Joey). ‘Can I get him (for basketball) or can we share him with baseball’”
St. Paul football coach, Rick Zepeda:
“I thought that CIF did a great job getting us to January. We’re just trying to get through this and then see what happens. I’m hoping that we will be back on campus and then we can practice everyday.
We will have a grander appreciation when we run on the field in January. We can be patient and wait for that moment.”
Santa Fe multi-sport athlete, Joey Peralta, on his decision of which sport to compete in for the Spring. He was a two-time All Del Rio League basketball player (shooting guard) and a pitcher and shortstop on the baseball team. He is seriously thinking about playing both sports in the same season. A new Ad campaign may evolve, imitating Auburn’s Bo Jackson from the 80’s when he played both football (Raiders) and baseball (Kansas City) in the same year- “Joe knows”!
Santa Fe basketball and baseball player, Joey Peralta: “That definitely feels good to finally know we’re going to play. Now, we know what’s ahead. Baseball is my main sport, but I’ve been going back and forth to each sport for years. My mindset is to play both sports.”