The OHSAA Must Pull The Plug

Over the past three weeks, three NCAA Division 3 conferences in Ohio, and eight Division One conferences nationwide have canceled all fall sports due to the coronvirus. In an unprecedented move, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Ohio Athletic Conference and North Coast Athletic Conference have all decided to postpone fall sports until possibly the spring of 2021.

Whatever side you come down on in this politically sensitive subject, the virus has sewn itself into almost every facet of life today. Whatever we do, the virus is in the forefront. Good or bad, it’s become a way of life for us in the year 2020.

Because of this, college conferences are re-examining not only to play, but how to implement the NCAA “rules of Engagement.” Among the recommendations put forth:

• Daily self-health checks.
• The appropriate use of face coverings and social distancing during training, competition and outside of athletics.
• Testing strategies for all athletics activities, including pre-season, regular season and post-season.
• Testing and results within 72 hours of competition in high contact risk sports.
• Member schools must adhere to public health standards set by their local communities.

Brian Hainline is the NCAA chief medical officer. Hainline said “Any recommendation on a pathway toward a safe return to sport will depend on the national trajectory of COVID-19 spread, the idea of sport resocialization is predicated on a scenario of reduced or flattened infection rates.”

Of course that isn’t happening. Which has led to the disagreement on what to do with High School sports. If Colleges at the Division One level, flushed with money, cannot afford the requirements, how can high schools that are hard pressed right now to even open. All this without help from the federal government.

Then Tuesday night the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the suspension of fall sports scrimmages in contact sports for 2020.  In a communication sent to athletic directors and administrators, the announcement was distributed by Interim Executive Director Bob Goldring. This includes football, soccer, field hockey and cross country. Volleyball, for the time being, is not included.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, and also may be produced when yelling, cheering, singing and spitting.  Each school should develop and implement plans to negate these possibilities.

That is where the masks come in. Forget the masks we wear daily to prevent the spread, but let’s take football for example. You cannot expect players to wash hands after every play. In the trenches players deal on a body on body basis. They get grass, mud and sweat in their face and wipe it off. Obviously sweat and water transfers from player to player. What would help is a full glass face mask on the inside of the helmet bars. However even the NFL cannot decide on providing that to players. And the cost for High school’s would be incredible.

Meanwhile, the OHSAA recommends implementation of a daily pre-participation screening for all student athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and other school personnel, in consultation with local health department authorities. This adds to the cost. When testing becomes widely available, a routine testing program might be considered. Which costs as much as $100, per player. Then add in the costs of cross country, volleyball, golf and other sports, now you see the problem.

On top of that, schools are trying to open safely while the state and federal government don’t seem to be able to help with finances. The first responsibility of a school system board of education, superintendent and administration is to get the schools open and educate4 the kids. Not sports. Education is the primary concern for the children. That’s why sports are called extra-curricular.

I have had kids in the school systems and enjoyed every moment of watching them play. One, in fact, is a coach at a High School in Ohio. So this affects him and his teams. However there is just one thing to do. Because of the cost and problems involved, the OHSAA has no choice but to postpone all fall sports.

It’s understandable that seniors will be upset, that all athletes will be upset. And parents will see their dream of an athletic scholarship go away. But let’s take a look. According to scholarshipstats.com, your odds of a football players getting a D-1 scholarship are 39:1, meaning of all 39 players, only 1 get at least a partial scholarship. Those players are from larger schools, inside the upper classes of the OHSAA. That same football player has a 12:1 odds of playing in any NCAA division. However keep in mind, D-2 only offer up to $12,500 per year. D-3 and JUCO schools offer nothing to play.

So the scholarship argument being mute, the exhilaration of success on the field lives. But is that enough to risk the players health? Or the family they go home to every night? Or the friends they see outside the home? Is it worth it? For the time being, No. So it’s time for the OHSAA to pull the plug on fall sports and hope they can begin the winter season on January 1, 2021.

David Mitchell is the co-host of the Ohio Baseball Weekly show, every Monday nightat 7. He also has been providing radio play by play for over 25 years of high school and collegiate sports. You can follow or message him on twitter at ohbbcohost