The postponing of the fall sports gives student-athletes additional preparation time
After WIAA cancelled the fall sports, Eau Claire school district becomes the first school in Chippewa Valley to announce postponing of the fall sports to spring. While rumours were rife about postponement of the fall sports, the official announcement has left the athletes in a worrisome state. The students are now forced to make tough decisions on their enrollment for the next school year.
Michael Johnson, Eau Claire school superintendent in his statement said that despite the disappointing news for student-athletes, coaches, staff and families, moving forward, the best decision is to protect the community health.
The sports affected due to the news at Eau Claire Memorial and Eau Claire North are football, boys soccer, volleyball, boys and girls cross country, girls swimming, girls tennis, girls golf, and cheer and stunt.
Blu is mask ready for fall semester 💙 💛 #uwec #blugoldsflytogether 📷 : @HoepnerBill pic.twitter.com/DFZ0x950Lo
— UW-Eau Claire (@UWEauClaire) August 17, 2020
School Coaches React:
This decision has also garnered mixed reaction from the administration and teachers in different schools.
Eau Claire North’s football coach Andy Jarzynski found the decision as a series of losses for the kids. With many activities that the students look out for the most being cancelled, the morale is down among the high school students.
Blugolds, your mental health is very important to us. Please don’t hesitate to check out all the resources available to you via Counseling Services this fall. #uwec #blugoldsflytogether
Find more details HERE >> https://t.co/AStwncWyKg pic.twitter.com/6hwYceOvTk
— UW-Eau Claire (@UWEauClaire) August 13, 2020
Mike Sinz, football coach at Memorial High School on the other hand has assured everyone that the school will make the most of the given opportunity.
A senior lineman at Eau Claire North High, John Hedrington , told that initially they were bummed but are just grateful for having a season at all even if it’s in the spring.
The bright side of postponement:
The silver lining from having to play football in the spring will be the extra preparation the teams will get before they hit the field again.
The extra lifting, sprinting and working out will benefit the inexperienced young athletes to develop their skills further.
While we spend a lot of time behind the scenes of @UWECblugolds, we are looking forward to using our new twitter to help promote the athletic training profession, our wonderful athletes and staff, & sharing health tips for all to benefit from! #firsttweet
— UWEC Sports Medicine (@UWECSportsMed) August 13, 2020
On the downside, athletes who planned to play collegiate sports may miss out on their senior season.
The other factor that might affect the fall athletes is the weather. From either a really wet day from early thaw to 20 inches of snow, athletes might face some difficulty. We suppose all that extra preparation would certainly help now.
Earlier this week, @ChancellorJim unveiled the Blugold Flight Plan after months of careful planning and preparation. The plan outlines simple steps to optimize safety, promote health and reduce the spread of COVID-19 as we return to campus. #uwec
More >> https://t.co/Wwv3irL1SU pic.twitter.com/o9l0xAlsfL
— UW-Eau Claire (@UWEauClaire) August 8, 2020
WIAA’s plan for spring season:
Eau Claire school is eagerly waiting to see which other district will postpone their fall sports to spring. At present, Eau Claire and La Crosse are the only districts that have cancelled the fall sports.
WIAA, Green Bay and Appleton are some that announced postponement even before Eau Claire Schools finalized.
The WIAA Board of Control passed a plan that allowed schools the flexibility to play fall sports in wither the fall or spring depending on the sport. This model will include regular winter and spring seasons but will be compressed to fit in the alternate spring season. Despite the overlapped seasons, the athletes will at least be able to participate with school board approval at the same time.
Student or teacher, athlete or musician, parent or coach, official or cheerleader… It doesn’t matter. We’re all in this together.
Let’s all #TeamUpToBeatCOVID.
↔️ Social distance
😷 Wear a mask
💦 Wash hands often
🧴 Sanitize commonly used surfaces
🏠 Stay home if you’re sick pic.twitter.com/igOMjuAyLY— WIAA (@wiaawi) July 23, 2020
Read more: India’s Olympic probable swimmers to train in Dubai
