Could High School Sports be shut down.

H

HiTime

Member
It looks like Biden will win the Presidency. He has said he will shut things down. Do you think this means High School Sports???
 
 
Obviously this will be a state-by-state decision ?. Worst thing he would do it try to mandate a mask which DeWine is already trying to do and if people would listen then maybe we wouldn't be having a conversation about shutting down winter sports.
 
It is a States Rights issue. Feds provide guidelines and offer assistance. It is up to each individual state to act, including accepting/declining assistance.
 
HiTime said:
It looks like Biden will win the Presidency. He has said he will shut things down. Do you think this means High School Sports???
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Some Could be shut down as I type this. Dictator DeWine has said numerous times in last few weeks that so far he leaving that stuff up to the Districts and Local Health Officials/Experts.
 
For the love of pete, lots of salty Trumpers in here. Biden has said he'll take actions to curb COVID. You all act like that's a bad thing. He's never said he'd shut everything down and as others have said above, that's a state control issue not national. If Ohioans would stop being whiny and petty and just follow guidelines, the numbers would come back down and we'd be fine.
 
I don't see sports being shut down... However, if schools shutdown, that is a different story... Shutdown as in lots of positive cases, kids and teachers in quarantine etc... Might be a basketball season of missing players in games and practices due to quarintine.
 
Sounds like there is talk that the OHSAA might shorten the season and move the tournament start time up. If. It's good enough for school to be open and kids to be in class then it's good enough to have a full basketball season.
 
HiTime said:
Sounds like there is talk that the OHSAA might shorten the season and move the tournament start time up. If. It's good enough for school to be open and kids to be in class then it's good enough to have a full basketball season.
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Where did you see anything that indicates that OHSAA is thinking of shortening the season?
 
Milford Schools has went to all Remote Learning and extra curriculars put on hold. I know of a HS Team in Southeast Indiana currently in quarantine
 
I don't if the season will be shut down. But my wife's school is preparing to go remote from at least Thanksgiving to the first of the year. I don't know if sports will still be played. She's had some basketball players in class that have had to be quarantined.
 
HiTime said:
Sounds like there is talk that the OHSAA might shorten the season and move the tournament start time up. If. It's good enough for school to be open and kids to be in class then it's good enough to have a full basketball season.
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Not all schools are back full go in person... and the plans being made are aligning with plans school districts are making for potential increases in winter with flu season kicking in as WhatsupDoc said above.
 
There are MANY programs that are being absolutely careless with COVID protocols. It's already tough enough with the numbers spiking, but for heaven's sakes - help yourselves. Do what you can. That isn't being done right now in a number of programs/schools.
 
GREENDAY said:
There are MANY programs that are being absolutely careless with COVID protocols. It's already tough enough with the numbers spiking, but for heaven's sakes - help yourselves. Do what you can. That isn't being done right now in a number of programs/schools.
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Do you have any specific examples of what protocols are not being followed by Athletic programs?

I don’t need the school names, just curious of what examples you have. Is it just a particular team at a school, or is it the whole athletic department at a school?

The school my kids are at is very regimented on what they’re doing on a daily basis to follow protocol.
 
legendinmymindonly said:
Do you have any specific examples of what protocols are not being followed by Athletic programs?

I don’t need the school names, just curious of what examples you have. Is it just a particular team at a school, or is it the whole athletic department at a school?

The school my kids are at is very regimented on what they’re doing on a daily basis to follow protocol.
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Not masking and distancing on the sidelines.
Not masking and distancing on the bus.
Not masking in the locker room.
Not masking in team meetings (film sessions).
Not wearing masks to and from the facility.
No masks for coaches during scrimmages and practices.
Sharing water bottles.
No temperature checks.

None of this stuff is hard to do - at all. As a coach - you really can't control what the kids are doing when they leave your facility, but you should be doing everything that you can to protect your season when you are together as a team!

Kids and parents - even coaches - say that they want to play and have a season. However, their actions don't reflect that. It's really simple. Do what you are supposed to do - the odds of having a season increase.
 
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Are their schools that really do temperature checks every day when kids come to school or when fans come to games??? Why are you supposed to check players Temps at Practice when you don't check temps of the hundreds of students they are with for 7 hours a day.
 
WhatsupDoc said:
Are their schools that really do temperature checks every day when kids come to school or when fans come to games??? Why are you supposed to check players Temps at Practice when you don't check temps of the hundreds of students they are with for 7 hours a day.
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You are supposed to be checking temperatures at school too. Once again, something that is easy to do - but many people don't do it.
 
My wife's school doesn't check temperatures when kids come to school. Are you sure they are supposed to??? The only time they do is when she sends students to the clinic.
Do bigger districts get exemptions???
 
WhatsupDoc said:
My wife's school doesn't check temperatures when kids come to school. Are you sure they are supposed to??? The only time they do is when she sends students to the clinic.
Do bigger districts get exemptions???
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Nobody really "has to" do anything with this COVID stuff. Similar to many of the people who don't wear masks, because they don't "have to" - there are others who don't do temperature checks at schools. I do know that many schools are doing temperature checks and if a kid tests over a certain temperature - they are sent home or put into quarantine in a separate area.
 
Temp checks can be instructed to happen at home or schools can do them. It's a logistical nightmare to temp check every student as they come in, so many mandate that the parent takes a temp before putting them on the bus/bringing them to school.
 
The timing is just completely terrible. While I understand nobody has control over it - teams are getting ready to play their first game next Friday (girls) and then boys the next week. Some teams have already had 15 plus practices and 2-3 scrimmages.

If a "pause" does indeed happen, what does that mean from 11/20 - 1/3? That is 6 weeks OFF. (I can't imagine teams ONLY practicing for 6 weeks - that would get old quick). I would assume teams are not permitted to practice or scrimmage during this "pause". So when they do come back on say 1/4, teams would need at minimum 2 more additional weeks to reacclimate and re-prepare. So then you are looking at a 1/18 start.....girls would have 4 weeks of "regular season" before the tournament would start. Boys would have 5 weeks of "regular season".

You are going to have girls teams play 14 conference games in 28 days? Seems unrealistic. Boys would have an additional week, but still - doesn't seem like a smart move from an injury prevention viewpoint.

I'd say at this point - a "pause" would effectively wipe out the winter sports season.

I am hoping they continue to turn it over to the local school districts and they can handle it as their BOE deems appropriate.
 
You're going to have a lot of teams only have 6-7 practices and no scrimmages before their first game because the team has been quarantined.

I think they will shorten the season like they did with football, play as many games as you can in 6 weeks and go from there. Or only play 60% of the season. Push the start date back to Jan 1. Start tournament last week of Feb. There is no easy solution
 
Whatsup has it as close as it's likely to be if shortened... they'll shorten league and overall seasons and get in what they can.
 
Hback said:
The timing is just completely terrible. While I understand nobody has control over it - teams are getting ready to play their first game next Friday (girls) and then boys the next week. Some teams have already had 15 plus practices and 2-3 scrimmages.

If a "pause" does indeed happen, what does that mean from 11/20 - 1/3? That is 6 weeks OFF. (I can't imagine teams ONLY practicing for 6 weeks - that would get old quick). I would assume teams are not permitted to practice or scrimmage during this "pause". So when they do come back on say 1/4, teams would need at minimum 2 more additional weeks to reacclimate and re-prepare. So then you are looking at a 1/18 start.....girls would have 4 weeks of "regular season" before the tournament would start. Boys would have 5 weeks of "regular season".

You are going to have girls teams play 14 conference games in 28 days? Seems unrealistic. Boys would have an additional week, but still - doesn't seem like a smart move from an injury prevention viewpoint.

I'd say at this point - a "pause" would effectively wipe out the winter sports season.

I am hoping they continue to turn it over to the local school districts and they can handle it as their BOE deems appropriate.
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I want to preface this by saying that I take COVID very seriously and I have the entire time that it has been active in our country.

The hypocrisy from our state's "leadership" right now is disappointing. What makes it even worse is that they think we are all so stupid and we don't see what is really going on. If safety is at the forefront of the decisions being made - I am all for a shutdown if that is what we need to get this deadly virus under control.

Here are some of the problems though:

When the OHSAA sent this winter sports survey out - they still had fall sports playing (and still do through this weekend). If they are that concerned - they need to shut down NOW. Of course - it is clear now that they only care about making tournament money. Everyone knows that they lost a lot of money as organization, the past year. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the timing of all of this makes it too clear. At this point, it looks like as long as they get their state tournament money - they aren't worried about anything else.

If school administrators vote to "postpone" (when in reality, I agree that a postponement could mean a cancellation), because they are that worried about COVID spread - maybe they should have been more diligent in enforcing mask mandates and distancing recommendations in their districts during the fall. We all saw the pictures - many guidelines were not being followed. How can an administrator say that a winter sport can't be played, but then make their teachers and staff come to work each day - in a smaller room, with less ventilation and in most cases, more kids (throughout a day). Kids/coaches have an option to play sports - but the same admins who oversee athletics in their districts don't give their professional staff members an option to work from home if they don't feel safe.

DeWine has stated on multiple occasions that he supported Trump in the election and wanted Ohio to remain a "red state". He let Trump hold rallies with thousands of un-masked Ohioans. There have been scholastic studies done that show these rallies were super-spreaders - in our case, taking COVID back to communities all over our state. Although he literally never said a word about these rallies - which broke every guideline and recommendation that could be broken - he has the nerve to get up and say that weddings, dances and other events are the main cause for COVID spread in his state. Surely, those things don't help - but come on man. Really? Now - after your boy Trump loses, you want to start enforcing mask mandates? Give me a break.

Coaches who are on state committees - that are supposed to be representing their fellow coaches - are making proposals without even surveying membership. While member of the board members on the coaching committees are outstanding coaches - there are few to none of them who went to an AAU tournament or pre-season individual event during the past 5-6 months to see how these games were played, with limited fans, distancing and cleaning procedures in place.

If schools go to remote learning, that is 100% the safest time for these games to be played. Schools should go remote from Thanksgiving until the 1st of the year - and as many games should be played during that time as possible. A true bubble will never be created for the students, since they live at home - however, this would be the closest thing.

There is absolutely no guarantee that a "postponement" will be just that.....it could ultimately mean a cancellation. What are you postponing for? Until the case numbers drop from 8000 a day to 4000 - (this still seems too high, but of course fall sports have played when this is the case)? Are you waiting until kids are back in school - so that the student-athletes are in contact with more people each day (dumb)? Are you waiting for a vaccine (this isn't going to be available to the public - you shouldn't have played fall sports then either)?

(Also - if I hear another person suggest a "league only" HS schedule - I am going to pull my hair out. Many schools don't have leagues. All leagues are different sizes - from different geographic regions. There are wide gaps in competitive balance in some leagues - I don't think anyone wants to see Hiland win 12 league games by 100 points each - that doesn't help anyone. This isn't college - the league-only approach hasn't been thought out very well, either.)

If people want to shut down for safety - shut down NOW! EVERYTHING. Wal-Mart shouldn't be open with hundreds of people. The Browns and Buckeyes can't have fans at their games (they shouldn't even be playing in this case). Schools need shut down and employees shouldn't have to go to work. Gyms are closed immediately. Bars are closed immediately. Don't pick and choose to fit an agenda - which clearly all of the decision-makers involved are doing - and that agenda is not the health of Ohioans. The hypocrisy is truly maddening..
 
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Thank you for your post. I might differ from you a little because I really feel for people in decision making roles. There is certainly no easy answers. We certainly do not differ on the idea of consistency in the rules. As far as for schools and school teams, I think the quarantine guidelines need to be reexamined. 14 days from contact is such a long time. I know they say people can show symptoms up to 14 days after exposure, but does anyone know what percentage of cases do not show signs for 14 days? Quarantines are affecting schools way more than the virus.
 
GREENDAY said:
I want to preface this by saying that I take COVID very seriously and I have the entire time that it has been active in our country.

The hypocrisy from our state's "leadership" right now is disappointing. What makes it even worse is that they think we are all so stupid and we don't see what is really going on. If safety is at the forefront of the decisions being made - I am all for a shutdown if that is what we need to get this deadly virus under control.

Here are some of the problems though:

When the OHSAA sent this winter sports survey out - they still had fall sports playing (and still do through this weekend). If they are that concerned - they need to shut down NOW. Of course - it is clear now that they only care about making tournament money. Everyone knows that they lost a lot of money as organization, the past year. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the timing of all of this makes it too clear. At this point, it looks like as long as they get their state tournament money - they aren't worried about anything else.

If school administrators vote to "postpone" (when in reality, I agree that a postponement could mean a cancellation), because they are that worried about COVID spread - maybe they should have been more diligent in enforcing mask mandates and distancing recommendations in their districts during the fall. We all saw the pictures - many guidelines were not being followed. How can an administrator say that a winter sport can't be played, but then make their teachers and staff come to work each day - in a smaller room, with less ventilation and in most cases, more kids (throughout a day). Kids/coaches have an option to play sports - but the same admins who oversee athletics in their districts don't give their professional staff members an option to work from home if they don't feel safe.

DeWine has stated on multiple occasions that he supported Trump in the election and wanted Ohio to remain a "red state". He let Trump hold rallies with thousands of un-masked Ohioans. There have been scholastic studies done that show these rallies were super-spreaders - in our case, taking COVID back to communities all over our state. Although he literally never said a word about these rallies - which broke every guideline and recommendation that could be broken - he has the nerve to get up and say that weddings, dances and other events are the main cause for COVID spread in his state. Surely, those things don't help - but come on man. Really? Now - after your boy Trump loses, you want to start enforcing mask mandates? Give me a break.

Coaches who are on state committees - that are supposed to be representing their fellow coaches - are making proposals without even surveying membership. While member of the board members on the coaching committees are outstanding coaches - there are few to none of them who went to an AAU tournament or pre-season individual event during the past 5-6 months to see how these games were played, with limited fans, distancing and cleaning procedures in place.

If schools go to remote learning, that is 100% the safest time for these games to be played. Schools should go remote from Thanksgiving until the 1st of the year - and as many games should be played during that time as possible. A true bubble will never be created for the students, since they live at home - however, this would be the closest thing.

There is absolutely no guarantee that a "postponement" will be just that.....it could ultimately mean a cancellation. What are you postponing for? Until the case numbers drop from 8000 a day to 4000 - (this still seems too high, but of course fall sports have played when this is the case)? Are you waiting until kids are back in school - so that the student-athletes are in contact with more people each day (dumb)? Are you waiting for a vaccine (this isn't going to be available to the public - you shouldn't have played fall sports then either)?

(Also - if I hear another person suggest a "league only" HS schedule - I am going to pull my hair out. Many schools don't have leagues. All leagues are different sizes - from different geographic regions. There are wide gaps in competitive balance in some leagues - I don't think anyone wants to see Hiland win 12 league games by 100 points each - that doesn't help anyone. This isn't college - the league-only approach hasn't been thought out very well, either.)

If people want to shut down for safety - shut down NOW! EVERYTHING. Wal-Mart shouldn't be open with hundreds of people. The Browns and Buckeyes can't have fans at their games (they shouldn't even be playing in this case). Schools need shut down and employees shouldn't have to go to work. Gyms are closed immediately. Bars are closed immediately. Don't pick and choose to fit an agenda - which clearly all of the decision-makers involved are doing - and that agenda is not the health of Ohioans. The hypocrisy is truly maddening..
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This is the problem. The numbers really don't lie. For a vast, vast majority of people, Covid has virtually no effect. The ratios that the public health officials were worried about are not coming to fruition. Some of this has to do with the fact that those that get really sick, we know how to do deal with them. Some of it has to do with the Public Health model just being very very wrong. However, the virus is really contagious and wearing a mask does help reduce one type of transmission but it doesn't stop the virus from spreading out of one's respiratory area and once it gets into the various HVAC systems, chance are you are going to get it. That is why the spikes happen when we go indoors. It is why the southern states had a spike in the summer (because they stay indoors). Outdoors transmission is not likely, even if people are unmasked. I am not saying the virus isn't deadly. It can be for some people but if you really want to know Covid's impact on the death rate: check where we are now versus the running average of 2016 through 2018. The last time I looked in late July, we were trending 6% higher. But, the authorities have a problem. The numbers are much greater now than they were when we shut down, so if they don't do anything they look stupid. So we will continue to send kids back home to fall further behind and we will shut business's down to the point that they won't be able to come back. And our entertainment industry is ice cold and won't be snapping back anytime soon (wait till show producers find this out) and our long term economy will carrying this anchor for years. But someone will say we saved a bunch of lives (no way to prove it one way or the other) and we will be doing this again sometime in the near future (probably 2024).
 
Funniest part is that it’s the adults (coaches and parents) who are frantic about playing and they are the ones with the greater chance of dying from Covid. Kids seem to understand the situation better. You coaches are willing to risk your health for a $4-6k stipend? No thank you.
 
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