Fall high school sports retain status quo

Majority of schools in Lucas County have opted to allow sports to continue under the guidelines issued by the department of health and the OHSAA.

By Mark Monroe / The Blade
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 23:46:10 GMT

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With mixed recommendations from health officials but strict protocols in place, most local school districts are allowing fall sports to continue to roll along.

Last Thursday, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department board recommended that all schools in the county suspend all sports until Oct.1.

However, the vast majority of schools in Lucas County have opted to allow sports to continue under the guidelines issued by the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Since Aug. 1, both contact and noncontact sports teams have been practicing.

Anthony Wayne superintendent Jim Fritz said a group of area educators from both public and private schools had a conference call on Monday with officials from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

“It was a good conversation,” Fritz said. “We talked about a variety of things in regards to contact and noncontact sports. Obviously, we respect the recommendations from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department … but I would hope that we can continue with contact sports with practicing and with noncontact sports with practicing and competition.”

The noncontact sports of golf and tennis also have begun official competition. The contact sports of football, boys and girls soccer, and field hockey are awaiting approval from the state health department and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to compete.

“I can't speak for the Lucas County health department but I think their takeaway was that they are going to consider our thoughts on this about what the [OHSAA] along with the state health department have recommended,” Fritz said. “If there is a way that we can have kids compete, which is what we all want to see, then we will try to do that in a safe way.”

Area superintendents expect an updated order to be released either on Tuesday or Thursday by DeWine.

“That state order could prohibit sports in general,” Fritz said. “We are all awaiting further guidance from the governor's office.”

Local officials said the sense of urgency for a decision to be made on contact sports continues to increase. Boys and girls soccer, as well as field hockey official contests, are slated to begin Aug. 21.

Volleyball, which also is considered a noncontact sport by the OHSAA, begins competition on Aug. 21. The first football contest can begin the week of Aug. 24 with the first Friday night on Aug. 28.

“As far as contact sports, we need some clarity,” Fritz said. “And if they are going to change that we need that information soon.”

In its most recent update, the Ohio Department of Health permitted noncontact sport competitions to reopen. The state agency also permitted contact sports to resume but to be limited to practices and training only. All participants must continue to comply with the state's social distancing requirements, including maintaining six-foot social distancing for players when not engaged in play and coaching.

“The way the governor has set this up for this fall ... he has given school districts local control,” Fritz said.

Most school districts are requiring student-athletes and their parents to sign liability waivers that include acknowledgment of the risk of contracting coronavirus.

“Most areas districts went to that this summer,” Fritz said. “The liability is a concern. But you have different organizations and health experts that have different opinions on whether we should or not play.”

Decisions being made

At its meeting on Monday afternoon, the Sylvania school board agreed that both contact and noncontact sports in the district will proceed under the current protocols.

Southview athletic director Jim Huss and Northview AD Chris Irwin went over the programs' updated protocols with board members.

“We are fighting on behalf of our kids. Sports are a big part of their experiences. It is an extension of the classroom,” Irwin said. “Athletics are a controlled environment. Athletics is a choice. Parents and athletes chose to participate. Everyone has a level of comfort with this virus. They have the option of not participating.”

The Northern Lakes League schools of Anthony Wayne, Bowling Green, Maumee, Napoleon, Perrysburg, Southview, and Northview and are all still practicing. Springfield has opted to suspend all of its sports.

Central Catholic, Clay, Notre Dame, Ottawa Hills, Toledo Christian, St. Francis de Sales, St. John's Jesuit, St. Ursula, and Whitmer are all still practicing and continuing under the OHSAA guidelines.

The board of education for Toledo Public Schools voted last Thursday to suspend all athletic activities for City League schools until Oct. 1.

Toledo-Lucas County Health Department Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski was unavailable for comment on Monday.

Positive cases

Officials at Anthony Wayne, Northview and Southview, St. Francis de Sales, and Ottawa Hills said they have had at least one student-athlete test positive for coronavirus.

At Anthony Wayne, 10 student-athletes tested positive for coronavirus.

“We were able to minimize the impact of that positive case on other students from the social distancing we have,” Fritz said.

Fritz said the district shut down both football and soccer practices for a week after the positive tests.

“We saw a couple of situations that we were concerned about so we did shut practices down,” he said.

There have been six athletes in the Sylvania district who have tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 39 athletes have been quarantined for 14 days. Two coaches also have tested positive for the coronavirus and two coaches have been quarantined.

Three of the schools' athletic teams were shut down for 14 days.

“We are talking about hundreds of athletes [between the two schools],” Huss said.

Irwin said contact tracing of the six athletes were not traced back to working out with fellow athletes in the district.

“We are creating a safe environment,” he said. “We have to learn to live with this virus and we are following the guidelines set by the CDC.”

At Ottawa Hills, athletic director Tammy Talmage said fall sports are continuing.

“The Board, superintendent, and myself are committed to having sports unless the governor or State Health Department says we may not,” Talmage said.

One Ottawa Hills athlete has tested positive for the coronavirus. Talmage said school officials followed state protocol and contacted the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

“Everyone is practicing and preparing for their seasons,” Talmage said. “They are wearing masks and doing what we ask of them. Everyone wants a season but also we want to be careful and safe.”

Fritz said AW school officials continue to emphasize to the student-athletes that they need to be safe to help stop the spread of the virus.

“We have looked at all the recommendations from the Ohio Department of Health and we have implemented those into our plans to bring kids in safely,” he said.

Fritz pointed out that Lucas County covers a large land space.

“As you look at the numbers specifically to our ZIP codes, you see that we have some of the lowest number of cases in the Lucas County area,” he said. “We know that COVID-19 doesn't stop at the ZIP code line. But we understand that we have a little bit of a different situation here in our district than some of the other districts in Lucas County.”

St. Francis athletic director Justin Edgell said the school is continuing with its plan and will adjust.

“We have slowly brought back sports to campus since early June. This allowed us to educate our students and staff on protocols in easier to manage settings,” Edgell said. “We have continued to make modifications to our practices — smaller groups, less contact, hand-washing, temperature checks, health screenings, mask-wearing, etc.”

Edgell said that at least one St. Francis athlete has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

“We have worked closely with the LCHD to implement our protocols,” he said. “Everyone that was within extended direct contact [6 feet or less for 15 or more minutes] is quarantined for 14 days.

“The key to this entire process has been communication. New information is being thrown at us literally every day. Our athletes and their families, coaches, and administration are incredibly motivated to compete again. I think we all understand that it might just not be tomorrow or the next day. We may have to wait until the spring or beyond. This is tough to accept but a reality. We are doing our very best to limit everyone's risk of exposure.”

St. Ursula AD Mike Donnelly said his sports teams also continue to follow the Ohio Department of Health and the OHSAA guidelines. He said no athletes at the school have tested positive.

“It has been a challenge navigating the daily and weekly changes, but our staff, coaches, and athletes have done a fantastic job communicating with the school and adjusting on the fly,” Donnelly said. “Our coaches are doing everything possible to keep our student-athletes safe.”

Fritz said the concern is that the coronavirus could once again increase dramatically which could impact winter sports.

“I hate for any kid not to have athletics or band or the educational experiences we all want to have this school year,” he said.

Fritz said all involved want a return to normalcy for the student-athletes.

“We will wait to see what [state officials] say this week. We've been pleading that we need answers sooner rather than later and this week we hope we get some answers,” Fritz said. “The frustration that we all have with COVID-19 is that it has changed our lives. It has caused anxiety and frustration. The goal for all of us is to work through this and do what is safe for kids.”

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