I know there is so much talk of COVID-19 and when we should get back to a normal life with school, work, restaurants, ballgames, etc. When to get rid of the masks or when/if to get vaccinated.. So many questions out there. But I am writing this to ask you to respect the student athletes, coaches, parents, and everyone else involved in the sports programs.
Since I know a little more about basketball than most sports, I will give you a story about a school in Northwest Ohio, where I live. About an hour and a half from me, Ottoville High School is a tiny farm school in western Putnam County.. This year, their basketball programs, both girls and boys, were supposed to be very good.. THEY ARE, BY FAR, THE MOST EXPERIENCED TEAM IN THE STATE OF OHIO, OF ANY SIZED SCHOOL.. They have a senior class of about 60-70 kids and they have 18 SENIORS THAT PLAY VARSITY BASKETBALL(8 GIRLS and 10 BOYS). Their girls program is always good and boys team, depends on the years. Needless to say, this is their last hurrah and those kids want to go out on a high note by playing games. So far, the girls team is 19-1 and the boys team is 16-2, so they are playing well.
These kids have known each other since kindergarten and you can imagine how close they would be in such a small town.. Everyone knows each other and their business. Lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, in-laws that are related to other families of players. THEY WANT THE WIN BUT THEY WANT THEIR KIDS TO BE SAFE, AS WELL.
Guys, I have had the responsibility of making sure our school had proper staffing at games in a regular season and with a COVID year, I am sure it is so much more difficult. You have to have people at the doors to take gate, make sure a janitor or school representative is on site to open and lock the gym when the games are over with, also to clean the facility well. Make sure there are rooms available and ready for the referees to dress and to go to at halftime, before the game, after the game. Someone to run the clock and the scorers table.. Make sure the documentation is sent so the referees are at the right gym at the right time.. Make sure that EMS or police have a presence at the game. Make sure that checks are cut to the referees and those working the game.. Staff or even students to show the referees and opposing team where to go when they arrive, Make sure concessions is going to run smoothly. Lots of things need to happen at a game that has nothing to do with the game itself. Lots of people help but someone is ultimately in charge of all of that.. And you want it nice for the sake of the kids.
Can you imagine ADDING TO THAT the responsibility of COVID testing and tracking to see who these kids have been exposed?? Same with the coaches!! A team like Ottoville has had opposing teams cancel.. Just to give you an idea, they had a team in their league cancel a game 2 days before because of multiple kids being exposed to one with COVID. Ottoville called around to other schools to see if they also had an opening in their schedule and picked up Wauseon, who is a ways north of them and a bigger school.. The game got cancelled because of weather so they called another school and scheduled a game on a day's notice.. They wanted to play Defiance at Defiance. A WAY BIGGER SCHOOL than Ottoville. Defiance first agreed but then had to host their league wrestling meet because the original host school had a COVID outbreak.. SO the gym was being used and Defiance girls went to Ottoville at the last minute instead.. Can you imagine all the arrangements being made at the last minute to pull that game off, based on the paragraph above that I wrote of things that need to be done before a game??
This COVID has changed how coaches coach.. Coaches cant get to games to scout but on the POSITIVE SIDE, they coach kids to say "Look, this is what we do and how to do it".. It is all about the team and what they do, not concerned so much with the opponent. A lot more fundamentals taught in practice as opposed to concentrating on a game plan against the opponent.. Ottoville's kids have the right attitude. Their kids have the attitude of saying, "We understand the situation.. Just tell us when we do have a game scheduled and we will be ready to play." That is the attitude you have to have. But those grandparents in those small towns have not missed games in 50-60 years, so this is a huge adjustment and tough on them as fans as well as their grandkids who play not seeing relations in the stands. Spouses of coaches unable to attend.. It is NOT EASY on anyone and I wrote this just to encourage you to appreciate and encourage the young people around you... They did not ask for this COVID thing. But thankfully most teens have a lot of resilience and flexibility(go with the flow) in them but it is not easy and all of them need our encouragement for their good.
Since I know a little more about basketball than most sports, I will give you a story about a school in Northwest Ohio, where I live. About an hour and a half from me, Ottoville High School is a tiny farm school in western Putnam County.. This year, their basketball programs, both girls and boys, were supposed to be very good.. THEY ARE, BY FAR, THE MOST EXPERIENCED TEAM IN THE STATE OF OHIO, OF ANY SIZED SCHOOL.. They have a senior class of about 60-70 kids and they have 18 SENIORS THAT PLAY VARSITY BASKETBALL(8 GIRLS and 10 BOYS). Their girls program is always good and boys team, depends on the years. Needless to say, this is their last hurrah and those kids want to go out on a high note by playing games. So far, the girls team is 19-1 and the boys team is 16-2, so they are playing well.
These kids have known each other since kindergarten and you can imagine how close they would be in such a small town.. Everyone knows each other and their business. Lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, in-laws that are related to other families of players. THEY WANT THE WIN BUT THEY WANT THEIR KIDS TO BE SAFE, AS WELL.
Guys, I have had the responsibility of making sure our school had proper staffing at games in a regular season and with a COVID year, I am sure it is so much more difficult. You have to have people at the doors to take gate, make sure a janitor or school representative is on site to open and lock the gym when the games are over with, also to clean the facility well. Make sure there are rooms available and ready for the referees to dress and to go to at halftime, before the game, after the game. Someone to run the clock and the scorers table.. Make sure the documentation is sent so the referees are at the right gym at the right time.. Make sure that EMS or police have a presence at the game. Make sure that checks are cut to the referees and those working the game.. Staff or even students to show the referees and opposing team where to go when they arrive, Make sure concessions is going to run smoothly. Lots of things need to happen at a game that has nothing to do with the game itself. Lots of people help but someone is ultimately in charge of all of that.. And you want it nice for the sake of the kids.
Can you imagine ADDING TO THAT the responsibility of COVID testing and tracking to see who these kids have been exposed?? Same with the coaches!! A team like Ottoville has had opposing teams cancel.. Just to give you an idea, they had a team in their league cancel a game 2 days before because of multiple kids being exposed to one with COVID. Ottoville called around to other schools to see if they also had an opening in their schedule and picked up Wauseon, who is a ways north of them and a bigger school.. The game got cancelled because of weather so they called another school and scheduled a game on a day's notice.. They wanted to play Defiance at Defiance. A WAY BIGGER SCHOOL than Ottoville. Defiance first agreed but then had to host their league wrestling meet because the original host school had a COVID outbreak.. SO the gym was being used and Defiance girls went to Ottoville at the last minute instead.. Can you imagine all the arrangements being made at the last minute to pull that game off, based on the paragraph above that I wrote of things that need to be done before a game??
This COVID has changed how coaches coach.. Coaches cant get to games to scout but on the POSITIVE SIDE, they coach kids to say "Look, this is what we do and how to do it".. It is all about the team and what they do, not concerned so much with the opponent. A lot more fundamentals taught in practice as opposed to concentrating on a game plan against the opponent.. Ottoville's kids have the right attitude. Their kids have the attitude of saying, "We understand the situation.. Just tell us when we do have a game scheduled and we will be ready to play." That is the attitude you have to have. But those grandparents in those small towns have not missed games in 50-60 years, so this is a huge adjustment and tough on them as fans as well as their grandkids who play not seeing relations in the stands. Spouses of coaches unable to attend.. It is NOT EASY on anyone and I wrote this just to encourage you to appreciate and encourage the young people around you... They did not ask for this COVID thing. But thankfully most teens have a lot of resilience and flexibility(go with the flow) in them but it is not easy and all of them need our encouragement for their good.
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