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On February 19, high school sports athletes scored a major win with a revision on the return of youth sports, particularly in football. Baseball remains on track to have a semi-normal season, but basketball still has roadblocks to work past.
What do you need to know?
Schools can play football once their adjusted case rate is below 14 per 100,000 people in their county
If a county meets this requirement, practice can begin on February 26.
Football players and coaches will need to test weekly (paid for by the state) if the case rate is between 7 and 14.
The end date for football is April 17, but there has been some movement in certain areas to push the end date to April 30/May 1.
For the complete sports guidance, click here.
This movement saw tremendous support over the past six plus weeks, but was spearheaded by Serra head coach Patrick Walsh, De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh, Torrey Pines head coach Ron Gladnick and Let Them Play co-founder Bradley Hensley.
Now, the conversation splits into how to practically play football and baseball and what is next for basketball.
For the former, there will need to be a ramp up in some cases to be ready for games, organizing the testing and results collection and ensuring games can be played in regards to officials, field setup, etc. However, those challenges are a welcomed sight for many weary players and coaches in Northern California.
For basketball, there was some hope on Friday night with a ruling in San Diego County. However, this is temporary and just in San Diego for now. There will need to be a grassroots movement of support and data collection similar to football if there will be a high school season.
More Reading:
California lifts COVID-19 ban on high school football (Bay Area News Group)
Analysis: Getting Players back on the field (Bay Area News Group)
California's New guidance allows football, other outdoor sports (MaxPreps)
Youth Sports can soon resume in California counties (Sacramento Bee)
