By Marty Gordon
A shortened sports season for high schools will mean football teams will only play six games this spring after the Virginia High School League’s (VHSL) executive committee passed a resolution earlier this week.
The group met in a special work session on Monday to discuss schedule options for regular season and postseason championships under the Condensed Interscholastic Plan.
After meeting with coaches, athletic directors/principals and superintendent representatives from the respective regions for 10 days, the VHSL staff drafted a working plan schedule dubbed “Championships + 1” for FY 2021 Athletic and Academic Activities and presented those findings to the executive committee.
Under the plan, basketball teams would be limited to 14 regular season games, volleyball 12, baseball and softball 12, and soccer and tennis 10 matches.
Basketball could begin practice on Dec. 7 with the first contest scheduled for Dec. 21 with the state finals on Feb. 20.
Wrestling could start Dec. 14 with a state tournament Feb. 18-20.
After that, the scheduling becomes complicated. All fall sports would get underway by mid-February with football slated for the first practice on Feb. 4. The exact details on the football postseason remain to be ironed out, but a state championship could be in the cards for on or near May 1.
Volleyball and golf would face similar routes with state championships by the end of April.
The true spring sports would commence around April 12. This includes baseball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field and tennis. State championships would be held in late June with the exception being tennis and track by June 13.
“I want to be clear that this work session was not intended to produce a final plan,” said VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun. “The purpose of the work session was to provide a draft to the executive Committee for the FY2021 sports and academic season and for the process of building a plan for regular season and postseason.
“The various staff meetings with coaches, athletic directors, principals, and superintendent representatives discussed at length the challenges, including health, safety and financial considerations of implementing any schedule options,”Haun said. “We appreciate the hard work and feedback our region athletic directors, coaches, principals and other representatives provided to our staff during region meetings and through our coaches advisory committees.
“Our newly formed Student Advisory Committee also provided invaluable feedback as well,” the VHSL head said. “The VHSL is fortunate to have a dedicated group of school administrators and coaches who are working tirelessly during these unprecedented times on behalf of all students as we plan for athletics and academic activities for the upcoming year.”
