Everything has seemed to change this time around from last year.
We were talking about football previews, outlooks for the season, you know. Everything looked normal.
Everything was normal until March 12th 2020.
That’s when the MHSAA cancelled the remaining winter sports tournaments and delayed the spring season.
I thought back then in March that was the darkest day in sports. Everything was on hold and society changed.
When Governor Gretchen Whitmer closed the schools down a two weeks later and the MHSAA would call off the seasons then I thought about the mental aspect of everyone and the pain and suffering that would come to ahead.
When Whitmer put a more restrictive lockdown in place (can’t go to vacation home, paint, and gardening) was when I was up at arms.
As the summer months came, I thought we had turned the corner as a State and things were starting to open back up. I was thinking that we could have a season for the Class of 2021, something that the Class of 2020 couldn’t have.
Then the parties, beach parties, large gatherings, lack of masks, and lack of social distancing showed its ugly head and more restrictions were put in place. I thought here we go again.
When the MHSAA decided to keep the seasons the same in Mid-July, I felt ok maybe we could get a sense of normalcy that the students, parents, coaches, and staff deserve even though I wanted the spring and fall sports to switch, maybe it would help but the league chose to keep everything the same.
As I wrote the football preview, the restrictions were still in place. All indoor gatherings can’t have fewer than ten people which means sports like volleyball and girls swimming and diving would have to work outdoors.
I felt confident that sports like boys soccer, cross country, tennis, and girls golf would get the go ahead to start their seasons even though boys soccer was deemed a moderate risk, I felt that there was enough distance between them to go ahead with their seasons.
In volleyball and girls swimming and diving I felt confident that they will get the go ahead but the problem for those sports is that they are indoors and Whitmer has the school gyms and pools still closed. I believe that schools have the right protocols but they need Whitmer to open up the school gyms and pools.
For football, I knew there were risks and every football program had safety measures in place but there were positive cases at Seaholm, Adams, and Clarkston in the summer and the beginning of the season. However due to the uncertainty and high risk of contact the sport provides the league decided to move football to the spring.
I knew that MHSAA Executive director Mark Uyl made mention that he was in constant contact with Whitmer’s office and medical experts. I have been very skeptical of Whitmer and medical experts from the very beginning but one thing that has me really upset is that medical experts and Whitmer doesn’t even attempt to look at this and see it.
The mental component.
With football being moved to the spring, I worry about the mental mindset of the students especially those who had their seasons taken away from them. I know parents, coaches, and athletes are very upset and I don’t blame them, they have every right to be. There are several petitions to get them to play in the fall but I don’t know. The mental aspect is the one that has me worried especially seeing kids not having a recourse like what football provides for them.
This is something I want Whitmer and medical experts to explain even though their coaches will give them the best recourse during this dark time.
Everything has changed from a year ago, I guess it’s time for us as a society to adjust as well.