Chita Aguirre, former Santa Fe High School softball player who now plays for the University of North Dakota, works on her grandmother’s ranch in Chino during the holiday break. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)

NORWALK – It’s been a crazy year, 2020. But the New Year couldn’t have come any sooner.

Today, Friday, Jan. 1, is a day to look ahead for better days, but at the same time take a look back.

Forty-three weeks have passed without any high school game action in any sport, since it all came to a sudden halt in mid-March.

Sports, of course, are down the list for what is going on around the world.

For the thousands of high school athletes that have been patiently waiting for game action to resume, it’s been a challenge.

We just hope, as the calendar turned to 2021, life and the activities that these young people so dearly need starts back up in some form or another.

The CIF-Southern Section has two key dates that everyone will be paying attention to coming up in 2021:

Monday, Jan. 4 – The California Department of Public Health will reassess the Jan. 25 return to competition date and evaluate the situation at that time.

Tuesday, Jan. 19 – The CIF will provide an update on its plans for fall sports championships.

John Glenn High School athletic director Linda Parra, along with many other AD’s, have had numerous changes to deal with since the 2020-’21 school year began.

“When I reflect back on all events that took place this past year, I am so appreciative of the staff and students we have at John Glenn,” Parra said. “2020 was hard for every student, staff member, coach and administrator across the nation. Students and athletes missed out on graduations, senior activities, athletic competitions, and so much more.

“The sense of not knowing what tomorrow may bring definitely taught us the value of being patient and flexible. It is so easy during difficult times to give up and just want to quit for both the athletes and coaches.”

However, let’s take a look back at some of the brighter spots of the last few months for these student-athletes and their stories.

A few of the athletes that The Norwalk Patriot featured that have graduated are still waiting to compete in their first college competition.

Chita Aguirre, former Santa Fe High School softball player who now plays for the University of North Dakota, prepares the fire pit to cook meat as she works on her grandmother's ranch in Chino during the holiday break. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)

Our very first story featured Santa Fe High softball player Chita Aguirre. She is currently a freshman at the University of North Dakota.

Aguirre, along with hundreds of other players in the CIF-SS, had her season cut short when the pandemic halted sports in March, but she already had been signed up for college in the fall of her senior season.

She recently completed her first semester of school.

With Aguirre home for the holidays, the freshman has been keeping busy on the family’s one and a half acre ranch in Chino, taking care of the horses and grandmother, Francisca Figueroa.

“She is our family rock,” said Aguirre, who has already gone through fall practice on the Grand Forks campus. “My uncle (Jose Figueroa) and I are busy with the day-to-day duties of the ranch.”

That includes the restaurant (Mezquital De Oro) that her grandmother and uncle own in Fontana.

Aguirre, who plays in the infield, has grown as a person since she has been away from home.

“I definitely feel that I’ve grown a lot more,” she said. “I’ve most definitely complained about the weather (in North Dakota). It was 14 degrees at the airport the day I left to come home for the holidays in November.”

As for the current state of the pandemic, Aguirre said that the softball team was the only one on campus that didn’t contract the virus until the last week of practice.

“I had to self quarantine for a week and a half,” she added. “It was hard just to be in separate rooms. I honestly didn’t like it – I’m a hands-on person.”

Fall practice didn’t include any games and only had intrasquad competition.

“[Fall] wasn’t like I expected without any games,” Aguirre added. “I’m just waiting to play and stay positive.”

North Dakota has won eight Summit League regular-season championships and advanced to 10 of the past 11 NCAA Division I tournaments, including a Super Regional appearance in 2009.

Two Santa Fe High athletes, Jason Givens and Tomi Oginni, were named Athletes of the Year for the Chiefs and The Patriot was there to tell their story.

Givens was the senior class president and starred in both basketball and baseball. Oginni, who will be attending UC San Diego as a student only, feels for the current students and athletes.

“I feel like it’s something that we’re getting used to,” said Oginni, who will major in public health. “I feel bad for (the athletes) and hope they will have a season.

“Now that the vaccine is out, I still am not getting my hopes up. I’m just hoping for the best.”

**John Glenn girls basketball standout, Cynthia Almanzar, practices on her own until basketball season begins. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

The Patriot spotlighted current John Glenn senior basketball player Cynthia Almanzar this past summer. She has been frustrated at not being able to practice or play, as most every other athlete has been.

“I think it’s heartbreaking not having the chance to play,” said Almanzar, who hopes to travel to the Dominican Republic for a tournament in August. “I think about it every day. I just try to keep in shape.”

Almanzar has a GoFundMe page and hopes to raise almost $4,000 for the trip.

Almanzar, who was chosen to play on Team California in the International Dominican Tournament, knows how important it is to keep working out.

“My mom (Daysis) takes me everywhere and has always been pushing me,” Almanzar said. “Everything I’ve worked for is for high school and the Dominican trip.

“As a teenager, I know sports are a big impact in our life, but you have to find other ways to distract from what’s going on. At this point, I just want to get a season and graduate.”

As for the situation everyone is in, Almanzar added, “…All we can do is wait for answers.”

On the other end of the spectrum are the coaches.

**New Football Head Coach, David Cruz, is also the Assistant Athletic Director at John Glenn High School Norwalk. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

The Patriot featured new John Glenn football coach and assistant athletic director David Cruz this past summer, who has his own feelings of the past few months.

“It’s a difficult decision,” Cruz said. “In one position I feel sad that they aren’t playing. I feel compassion for this generation, but I do feel more for my dad’s generation that had to go off to war in Vietnam.

“I try to think of it on both sides, as a football coach and an AD.”

With CIF constantly updating the different start-up dates for fall sports, it’s been a roller coaster for most coaches

“That’s the hard part of not having a concrete answer,” Cruz said. “There might be a season, but all these different scenarios, I just feel like we’re spinning our wheels.”

More recently, The Patriot covered a story on one of Cruz’ football players, Joe Varoz, who will be attending Minot State University in North Dakota.

“Joe was able to get a scholarship,” Cruz said. “It’s all about getting their names out there. Most kids already have videos of themselves.

“I have a handful of kids that can play at the next level.”

Cruz, who has been at the school for 18 years as a teacher and coach, knows that a decision to play has to be made soon.

The St. Paul boys volleyball team has high expectations for the season and The Patriot told their story.

**Rich Avina is the newly named Athletic Director at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

Rich Avina, who was recently named athletic director for the Swordsmen, is the boys volleyball coach and has concerns about some of the dual-sport athletes.

“We obviously got the word the season has been shifted to the spring,” Avina said. “We have some dual-sport athletes in our volleyball program, such as Nathaniel Lewis (basketball), Eric Brown (track) and Alek Rothweiler (track). I’m just going to wait to see if we have a season.

“We’re going to lose a few players. Hopefully they will only miss a couple of matches. The other part of it is the kids have trained to play one specific sport.”

**Norwalk High’s new sports complex is nearing completion. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

Norwalk’s New Sports Complex

Even more disappointing is a nearly-completed, brand new stadium and sports complex at Norwalk High that will sit empty for a few more weeks.

Unofficially, a March completion date is on the horizon.

The new on-field complex features a new baseball and softball all-turf field, soccer fields, tennis courts, concession stand and a field house.

The complex is still being worked on with continuing work on the field house.

What they said:

Charles Gandara, St. Paul softball coach: “To say 2020 has been crazy is the understatement of the year. As 2020 comes to an end, it’s hard to believe that in December we’d be talking about the real possibility of not having a 2021 season. We were all naïve back in March, thinking that we’d return to the field by Easter and pick up with our lives again. But as spring turned to summer and summer to fall and now winter is here, there seems to be no end in sight. My heart goes out to all of the student-athletes in California that are struggling with staying motivated in school and their sport. I see the signs of depression in my players and the mental toll that distance learning and no high school athletics is having on them. My heart especially goes out to the seniors on my team that has trained for the past four years and has been looking forward to playing together for their final year in high school that may not get that opportunity. Aside from possibly not playing together their senior year, these girls are falling behind players from other states.

“Three of my seniors (Jordin King, Jayne Sepulveda and Kat Serna) will be playing NCAA DI softball next year and will be competing for playing time against players from other states that have been playing with little to no restrictions since the summer. That puts them at a disadvantage. Also, the college rosters will be a little fuller with players from last year not losing a year of eligibility.

“I’m still optimistic that we will have a softball season this year and we have continued to train as best we can the past three months. We are open to anything, a condensed season, league games only, etc., as long as we get to play.”

Linda Parra, John Glenn Athletic Director: “I am so proud of how our coaching staff remained patient. When given the green light to begin conditioning, our fall sports diligently followed all protocols to provide a safe environment for the athletes during their session. Those few weeks of conditioning allowed for coaches and athletes to begin to get to know each other and understand that they were all part of a team. Being part of a team is so much more than just wearing a uniform. It teaches our students how to be there for one another and to lean on each other for support. That is needed now more than ever. So, the fact that we were given a chance to create an environment to show the athletes that they weren’t alone, but rather part of a team, was valuable.

“2021 will start off the same as 2020 ended, in that we still are unsure what the future of sports looks like. If athletic competitions are allowed to take place, our coaches have a lot of work ahead of them, as our programs have not practiced since last March. It is a blessing to know that John Glenn has a great coaching staff that is willing to put the extra time in to prepare their teams for competitions. 2020 has definitely shown us that we can be resilient and adapt to change at a moment’s notice!”

Rob Wigod, CIF-SS Commissioner (in a statement posted on CIF’s website): “There is no doubt that we have significant challenges ahead of us.

“We must try and overcome those challenges with every effort we can make in support of our student-athletes. It is too important to them for us to not do everything we can do on their behalf to keep their dreams alive.”

Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA softball coach: “This 2020 year has been challenging in many ways for everyone. Gerardo and I usually have very hectic schedules so we have enjoyed quality time to slow down and appreciate the little things at home.

“We have really embraced exercising patience and creativity in our coaching and are very excited to get back out on the dirt and start competing again.

“As Coach Wooden would say, “ yesterday is as old as dirt, we have no control over tomorrow, so create a masterpiece today.” We are making the most of each day and today is going to be a great one! Bring on 2021!”

Athletes, coaches look back on a tough year

What they said: