Centralia baseball players pose for a team photo after a doubleheader with Timberline on Saturday, March 14, in Lacey.
When Washington governor Jay Inslee ordered the closure of K-12 schools through April 24 in an effort to stop the coronavirus spread, high school spring sports went with it, shutting down along with the rest of extracurricular and school-related activities.
For many in the high school sports community, pessimism is the prevailing sentiment right now, with most major sports leagues around the world shut down indefinitely and the NCAA officially canceling the spring sports season. But others still harbor some hope that spring sports will resume, if schools are allowed to resume on April 24.
"I've spoken to a lot of different athletic directors -- there are some that are saying there's no way we're going to play, some are ready and think we're going to play," said Joe Keller, the director of West Central District III, one of the largest and most populated of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association's nine districts. "My feeling is that I'd really like to see us play, especially if we could extend (the season), but we have to do what's best for the safety of everyone, kids, spectators, fans, officials. I just don't know."
If schools were to resume on April 24, spring sports teams would still need to fulfill their 10-practice requirements before they would be allowed to field competitions against other schools. Teams could shorten the time frame by running two-a-day practices for five total days (a morning conditioning session or weight lifting routine, paired with an afternoon practice, for instance, would suffice).
It would put the start of the season right around May 1, with district tournaments scheduled to begin for boys soccer on May 9 and for other sports around the middle and toward the end of the month.
Having to condense an entire spring sports season into a one to three week season will be the biggest challenge for athletic directors and league commissioners, should play be allowed to resume.
"We're just kind of tossing around ideas right now," said Bryan Streleski, the Bethel School District Athletic Director, who also serves as the president of the 4A South Puget Sound and 3A Pierce County leagues. "Modified games, multiple-shortened games in a day."
In a Frequently Asked Questions page released on its website, the WIAA said modified and shortened games are allowed. Five-inning games would constitute a complete game for baseball and softball, one half would constitute a full game for boys soccer and golf would be allowed to participate in more than one match per day (provided they don't exceed 36 holes).
The WIAA also said in the FAQ that it would not postpone championships into June, due to scheduled graduations for schools.
League commissioners are also cognizant of schools, first and foremost. With so much missed time in the classroom, teachers and administrators will be hoping to make up for that missed time if schools resume on April 24.
"We have to do modified games, have to do weekend games, have to get them back into school," said Bob Werner, athletic director at Gig Harbor High School and the commissioner of the 3A South Sound Conference. "We're trying to be very sensitive to administrators and teachers. We have to move to a weekend-type structure."
To have every team in every league play each other at least once while not overloading the weekday schedule, leagues are looking toward loading weekends as the best option. Along with previously mentioned double headers and modified/shortened games, this would include scheduling competitions on Sundays, as well -- something schools in the state generally avoid, but the WIAA permits.
"There's nothing that says you can't go on Sundays," Werner said. "You just can't go seven days a week. At some point you have to take a day off. To keep the weeknights lighter, we're looking at Saturday and Sunday tournament-type structures."
Loading the weekends could work -- and is something the 4A SPSL and 3A PCL are actively considering, also -- but there's another issue to consider, Streleski said.
"There aren't enough umpires to cover baseball and fastpitch," he said. "We have to balance all of our schedules around what umpires can do, what fields can accommodate it. There's going to be a lot of jockeying for position, if we get to play. ... We're looking at weekends, for sure. We're kind of open to anything."
At the district level, Keller said there could be some wiggle room for potentially pushing back soccer, at least, by three or four days. But again, there's a lot to consider.
"We still have reservations for different golf courses, different stadiums with the current dates, as they are," Keller said. "I've contacted them and asked them to please be flexible. We'll have to see what we can come up with. We have so many classifications in District III, so everyone is going to be looking for the same venues. ... As we get closer, we're going to have to be pretty creative."
Most of the leagues in the area are hoping to have a modified schedule in place within the next couple weeks for all the spring sports. Of course, it's not lost on all those involved that all of this could wind up being wasted effort and work, with a strong possibility of schools being cancelled for the remainder of the school year to help continue curbing the spread of COVID-19.
"You look at what's going on across the country," Streleski said. "The NBA has shut down their season. The NCAA has shut down spring sports. Those are multi-billion dollar industries. When you look at it from that perspective, the most important thing is for their safety and well being. We have to determine whether having a spring season is prudent to keep them safe and healthy. Is that a safe thing to do for our communities? There's lot of variables in there."
Werner said he doesn't know if schools will resume or not.
"If schools don't go back, we're not going back," he said. "I really don't know. I'm at 50/50. For a while, I was more pessimistic. Our job is to make sure when and if schools come back, we're prepared and planned. That's why we're doing it. It could all be wasted time, but we have to have a plan and be ready to roll."
