In South Sound, high school sports administrators consider move to league-only schedules
In the eyes of many high school athletics administrators around the South Sound, postseason play is no longer a priority. They want kids back onto fields and courts now. A new idea is beginning to gain popularity among local athletic directors: Moving to a league-only season.
With the clock ticking on the 2020-21 school year, AD’s are growing more concerned every day about the toll the extended absence from extra-curricular activities is taking on student-athletes. Apart from some sparse conditioning sessions at some area schools, kids are largely still stuck at home every day, sitting in front of screens, isolated from their teammates, classmates and peers.
The WIAA executive board met Wednesday night and unveiled a new plan, moving traditional fall sports to the first season, which is slated to begin in February.
It’s something local athletic directors wanted to see happen. If higher-risk, indoor sports like basketball weren’t pushed back, there was a higher likelihood of leagues looking to break away from the WIAA and create their own, individual league-only schedules and calendars for the remainder of the school year.
It’s a move endorsed by the WIAA, which has granted permission to leagues and districts around the state to schedule seasons that best fit their local communities, rather than utilizing a one-size-fits-all schedule that may work for say, Eastern Washington communities, but not so well in King or Pierce counties.
“We’re still anxiously awaiting updates from WIAA,” Gig Harbor High School athletic director Bob Werner told The News Tribune on Tuesday, before the WIAA’s new guidance was presented. Werner also serves as the president of the Class 3A South Sound Conference, which includes eight schools from Pierce and Thurston counties. “We may go with (the WIAA’s plan). We’re also preparing to go with our own plan, if the WIAA falls short of what we hope to do with our local community.”
Athletic directors from the Wesco recently formulated their own schedule for a return to play for high school sports during the 2020-21 school year, the Everett Herald reported. For South Sound ADs, everything is on the table.
“We’re in South King County, where our (covid) numbers have been very high,” said Rob Swaim, Auburn School District athletic director and president of the North Puget Sound League. “It just depends on the timeline. We’ve been waiting to hear from our superintendents to see if we’re coming back to hybrid learning. … It’s not looking favorable to line up with the schedule the WIAA suggested in the beginning.”
For many leagues, the biggest bonus of going to a league-only schedule would be having greater control over which sports are played when, and finding a timeline that works best for their specific communities.
Going to a league-only schedule and switching seasons around might mean teams from certain leagues might not be eligible for a postseason. But already, the WIAA has said it’s doing away with state championships this year, to cut down on travel, moving to a regional championship model instead. And as more athletic administrators and coaches have become more outspoken about advocating for the return of high school sports, the postseason is becoming a lower priority. The priority is becoming to simply get kids back onto fields and courts, participating in extracurricular activities, rather than sitting in front of screens all day, isolated in their homes, away from teammates, peers and friends. If it’s a league-only schedule that concludes with a league tournament? Fine, so be it.
“We just want our kids to compete,” Swaim said. “Their mental health and well-being is more important than anything.”
Gibson, who also coaches the White River girls basketball team, said the postseason is no longer a priority.
“Putting on my coaching hat — once they did away with the state tournament, the postseason doesn’t really matter to me,” he said. “The regional thing may or may not happen. Go with a league season, have a league tournament. Let’s go with that.”
Werner said kids at Gig Harbor High School have been participating in outdoor conditioning since September, maintaining social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines and staying in small pods.
“They’re just doing conditioning, but they’re there with their teammates,” Werner said. “It’s been such a positive event. Twice a week, it’s been a fantastic thing for these kids. … The kids are just flat out excited to be back with their teammates.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
