Fall Sports: Be Happy For What We Got

We are clearly limping home to the finish of the fall high school sports season in the shore and throughout the state.

Just about every day a team or teams from multiple schools are being shut down for the remainder of the season because of COVID concerns and positive test results. It is causing havoc for all involved, athletes, coaches and administrators,  from not only the schools that have to cease playing sports but their scheduled opponents.

It is a stressful situation and the most unfortunate part is that many seniors who thought they had a game or two left to play find out the hard way that there will be no other opportunities to take the field and play with their friends and teammates. It’s awful!

However if everyone could just take a deep breath I would like to take you back to the summer months when most of us doubted there would be a fall season of any kind.  For weeks and months student-athletes, coaches and parents were bracing for the bad news that New Jersey, like many other states, would suspend the entire fall season.

However things moved ahead and we all knew this was a day-by-day and week-by-week adventure with the goal to stay healthy and have a season, even if it was shortened version with no tournaments and no championships.

In late summer I spoke with many coaches and asked the question: would you sign for being able to play most of your schedule?  Just about everyone said without question because they knew the flip side was no season which seemed very likely.

So here we are in the third week of November and most football, soccer and field hockey teams that have games remaining are still playing.  That’s not the case everywhere and you feel for those who did not get to finish out.  However for the most part we likely exceeded what we hoped for back in July & August.

With that said just about everything concludes this weekend with the exception of some football games that have been added around Thanksgiving.  To be honest those games should be cancelled. Be happy for what we got and don’t push it any further.

While I’m at it a special shout-out to athletic directors and other school officials for juggling a season like never before. Unsung heroes who often get the blame but never the credit.

By the way the NJSIAA is expected to release updated information on the winter sports season on Friday.  Right now practice is scheduled to begin on December 3^rd but that seems very much in doubt.