National experts sympathize with Californians concerned about limitations on high school sports

Two national authorities on high school sports sympathized Thursday, Oct 29 with those frustrated by the state of school-based and youth sports in California, which have been limited since early August to conditioning and skill development.

Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and Jon Solomon, editorial director of the nonprofit Aspen Institute’s sports and society program, expressed concern for high school sports in California.

High school sports in the state have been pushed back to start as early as December 12 in the CIF Southern Section, but there hasn’t been an update on guidelines from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) since Aug. 3. The guidelines call for social distancing and don’t allow for competition.

But across the nation, most states are near the end of their fall high school sports seasons, Niehoff said. Thirty states, she added, are headed toward football playoffs that lead to state titles.

“If you’re in California, yeah, I can understand that you’re pretty frustrated seeing Arizona right near you playing sports,” Solomon, based in Maryland, said during an online press conference with the NFHS.

“I’m usually a youth soccer coach this time of year with my son and we’re not playing. … We’re missing out on the value on physical and social and emotional benefits.”

Niehoff, based in Indiana, called California’s situation concerning, especially for football coaches eager to prepare their teams for games beginning Jan. 7-8. Football practices in the Southern Section are scheduled to begin Dec. 14.

“Football, as we all know, usually requires an extended preseason period,” she said. “Knowing the good people in the CIF, they are paying close attention to the different sections that they have in the state of California, the leadership in those sections and what the health decisions might be relative to the COVID contagious levels and metrics in those sections.

“Some of your more rural areas might be able to get out there sooner. … Demographics play a huge role in California.”

CIF State executive director Ron Nocetti said Thursday that his office continues to discuss high school sports with the CDPH and the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom didn’t address school-based or youth sports in his press conference Tuesday, Oct. 27, but said the number of coronavirus cases in the state are “trending slightly up.”

“I haven’t seen a road map that shows how we’re going to get back to practicing and then playing games,” Mark Cunningham, athletic director for the Irvine Unified School District, said earlier this week.

Mission Viejo’s football program started an online petition calling on state officials to allow full-contact practices to begin no later than Nov. 9. As of Thursday afternoon, the petition dubbed “CAPlay2020” had gathered more than 17,000 signatures.

Frustrated parents with children in some club sports say they are traveling out of state to play games.

Solomon called for balancing the benefits of youth sports with public health interest.

Niehoff said her organization has heard “few to none” coronavirus cases springing from the high school sports environment.

“We have heard for eight months (from states) that for the most part, there have been no reported — to their knowledge — cases where transmission has been a result of sport,” she said.

“I would say to parents (in California) who are frustrated, be patient, try to keep a perspective as the CIF still continues to implement the sports seasons and championships to some degree.”