Kickoff is coming! Football can resume in SLO County under new high school sports rules
San Luis Obispo County high school athletes got some welcome news Friday that football, baseball, soccer and other sports have been given the green light to resume, with new guidelines kicking in next week.
The California Department of Public Health released a youth sports update, laying out the criteria for a return to high school athletics, starting Feb. 26.
Outdoor sports will be allowed to resume in counties with fewer than 14 cases of COVID-19 for every 100,000 residents. The new rules apply to all organized youth and adult sports and take effect next Friday, February 26.
That means sports may resume in San Luis Obispo County and 23 other counties if current case rates hold. SLO County’s rate is at 13.7 per 100,000 currently, according to state data.
Gov. Gavin Newsom shared the news at a news conference Friday morning.
“We are now confident with new guidelines we can get youth sports running again,” Newsom said.
Indoor sports are facing more restrictions, based on color-coded health tier statuses based on a variety of metrics related to COVID-19 cases.
The decision was welcome news for hundreds of local athletes and coaches who’ve waited months to play sports.
Vic Cooper, Atascadero High’s football coach, said that a tremendous amount of work has been put into getting sports back in action and he’s hopeful the high school football season will take shape soon.
“I have always been hopeful,” Cooper said. “The coaches’ lobbying group had put in a tremendous amount of work. This makes it more of a reality...I am very excited to be able to give these young men some concrete good news moving forward with a most likely county football schedule coming down the pipes.”
Morro Bay High Football Coach Jake Goossen-Brown, who has been a strong advocate for holding a season, said “I am hopeful that our county can find a way to make the season happen, get at least a five-game county season in, safely and efficiently.”
How it works
The guidance applies to all organized youth and adult sports, including community-sponsored programs, and privately organized clubs and leagues.
Teams must play competitors in their county or in an adjacent county that meets the health standards, and relative allowances for individual sports.
Outdoor sports for high and moderate contact sports, such as football and water polo, may resume in purple tier status (which SLO County is currently in), if the county’s adjusted case rate exceed the 14 per 100,000 threshold, with regular weekly testing for athletes and coaches.
Outdoor moderate contact sports (red tier), such as baseball, softball, doubles tennis and cheerleading, can be played in the purple tier with an adjusted case rate equal to or less than 14 per 100,000.
High school coaches and athletic directors, in an initial reaction to questions from The Tribune, welcomed the news while adding further planning details will be necessary to clarify how teams may get back to action.
SLO County athletic director, coach reaction
Some high school sports, allowed to resume when the stay at home order lifted, are already beginning action under SLO County’s purple tier status, such as girls’ golf, tennis and cross country.
“We have been excited to bring back the purple and red tier sports for practice and we are participating in our first competition of the school year with a cross country meet this Saturday against Paso Robles,” said Marci Bedall, SLO High’s athletic director. “In regards to the most recent news, we have not had the chance to discuss as a school site or as a school district as our focus right now is returning to on campus instruction and getting all students back onto campus safely.”
Morro Bay High’s athletic director John Andree said: “We are also hoping we will be in the red tier here soon and plan to start up competitions in baseball and softball. Most of our sports have been doing conditioning activities to stay ready. “
Andree said that local athletes have been vigilant about wearing masks and following guidelines so far.
“We currently have CCAA schedules for the purple and red tier sports (CCAA is the 13 schools that make up the Central Coast Athletic Association),” Andree said. “We are following all of the (state) Youth Sports Guidelines for safety..As for the news that came out today about football and water polo we will be discussing how we will be moving forward.”
Tori Loney, Paso Robles High’s athletic director, said that it has been a challenging year with multiple changes and guidance on moving forward with competition.
Loney said that local athletic directors are in frequent communication and plan to continue rolling out scheduling details for various sports.
“Our CCAA athletic directors talk regularly via phone and email and meet monthly as new guidance is released, Loney said. “We have plans already to meet next week on the 25th. Currently, we have our purple tier sports either competing or getting ready to start a season. That means cross country, tennis and golf are up and running. Swim is soon to follow with track and field to get going in March.”
Loney added it will likely take a week or so for most school districts to create a plan to comply with guidance put forth by the state on high contact sports, such as football.
Challenges to returning to action
Asked about any challenges the schools may face, athletic directors said that shared facility use, conflicting sports schedules for cross-over athletes in different sports and a short timeline to plan seasons.
“We also are working against a ticking clock,” Loney said. “We have so little time to prepare schedules, arrange officials, and get word to our athletes and coaches of our new plan. It’s all especially challenging trying to get this going in such a short amount of time.”
And Loney added: “We also are working against a ticking clock. We have so little time to prepare schedules, arrange officials, and get word to our athletes and coaches of our new plan. It’s all especially challenging trying to get this going in such a short amount of time.”
Andree said that the biggest challenge so far has been facility use.
“With no seasons now and all sports trying to get some activities in our facilities are definitely impacted,” Andree said.
Goossen-Brown acknowledged that testing may be another challenge that needs to be worked out.
According to state guidelines, test results for COVID-19 will be required with results made available with 24 hours of play.
Additional, parents or guardians of outdoor high and moderate contact sport athletes, such as football and baseball, must sign an informed consent indicating their understanding and acknowledgment of the risks of playing.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 2:18 PM.
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