B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Uphill battle: OSAA executive board meets Dec.7
Continued from Page B1
how to proceed with the win-
ter season.
“The fact that the student
athletes can’t be basically
in contact with each other,
until that ban is lifted the
effect will basically be that
there’s no possibility to do
those sports as they normally
would be,” said Buell Gon-
zales Jr., athletic director for
the Baker School District.
Pendleton Athletic Direc-
tor Mike Somnis said he’s
seeking one thing: clarity.
“I think clarity is what
everyone is needing right
now, it’s just the uncertainty
we are all in,” Somnis said.
“Are we going to play? How
is this going to work? We
have a plan in place on (Dec.)
28th, and starting games on
(Jan.) 11th, but some of the
restrictions in place will
allow us to get to that point.”
Stanfi eld Athletic Direc-
tor Daniel Sharp feels that
the OSAA should be doing
more.
“I don’t think they
(OSAA) are doing a whole
lot with anything, I think
they are taking their march-
ing orders from the health
authorities and the gover-
nor’s offi ce,” Sharp said. “I
think people are ready to
adjust and make it happen.
It’s just kind of those regula-
tions and the fear of schools
hosting and being sued.”
Starting in Septem-
ber, OSAA allowed schools
to have a series of three
“mini-sessions.”
Each
monthlong session allowed
practices, and some unof-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
The Echo Cougars defeated the Elgin Huskies 49-36 in the
fi rst round of the OSAA 1A Basketball State Championship in
Echo on Feb. 25, 2020.
fi cial interschool contests,
starting with traditional
spring sports, followed by
fall sports and fi nally winter
sports. The mini-session for
winter sports started Nov. 17
and continues through Dec.
18, although practices are
on hold during the two-week
statewide “freeze” that con-
tinues through at least Dec.
2.
Darren Goodman, ath-
letic director at La Grande
High School, said the
mini-sessions have been
benefi cial.
“It’s been good, we’ve
been making sure we’ve
been following safety pro-
cedures in practices,” Good-
man said.
His feelings were echoed
by Athena-Weston Athletic
Director Shawn White.
“We’ve just been having
practices with what’s allow-
able,” White said on Nov. 12.
Jason Crenshaw, ath-
letic director at Joseph High
School, said he and his col-
leagues have had to learn to
adjust, and to not expect any
schedule to happen without
changes.
“It’s hard to plan your
year, we (athletic directors)
have to plan ahead and it’s
really hard to anticipate what
would happen with this pan-
demic,” Crenshaw said.
“You have to plan like it’s not
going to be there when you
get to that point.”
White said he sympa-
thizes with athletes who
have been waiting so long to
compete, and now might be
deprived of a winter sports
season.
“They just want to have
a season, and they are obvi-
ously in the same boat as
everybody else is,” White
said. “We are just wondering
what can they do.”
In the meantime, Good-
man said he focuses on the
activities that are allowed.
“We are going to do what-
ever it is that we can do; con-
ditioning, skill work, things
that you are allowed to do,”
he said.
Gonzales said he is pre-
paring to move ahead with
a winter sports season if
the OSAA executive board
makes that decision during
its Dec. 7 meeting.
“We will do everything
we can within the guide-
lines,” he said. “It’s been
super frustrating for our kids
and families to have to go
through this. The district,
athletic department and the
coaches have done a really
good job of offering oppor-
tunities for the kids.”
Somnis intends to reas-
sess the scenario at Pendle-
ton High School as soon as
the OSAA executive board
has made a decision.
“Whatever comes out of
that meeting, we will have
to assess where we are at and
where we are going to be,
and what our ability to actu-
ally play not only season two
and into season three and
season four,” Somnis said.
“We will be very proactive
making sure the kids have an
outlet in some form or other.”
OHA: Pendleton basketball will train outdoors
Continued from Page B1
while coaches will be meet-
ing online with athletes
during the freeze.
“We moved to a virtual
format where the coaches
will connect with kids
individually and provide
direction and provide an
opportunity to connect,”
Gonzales said. “That is
going to continue as long as
we are in this freeze.”
In Pendleton, Somnis
said indoor sports, such
as basketball, will tran-
sition to outdoor training
with the hope that a regular
winter sports season will
start Dec. 28. He said other
sports might also have out-
door workouts.
The Oregon School
Activities
Association
(OSAA) executive board
is slated to meet Dec. 7 to
decide whether to move
ahead with that plan.
“If any coaches want to
do anything outside under
the curtain guidelines for
outside conditioning they
can, I know our tennis pro-
gram intends to meet to
have the kids do a little run-
ning,” Somnis said. “I think
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Josie Wilson (7) drives down a hit during the fi rst
set against the Ridgeview Ravens. The Ravens defeated the
Pendleton Buckaroos in three sets at Pendleton High School
on Oct. 24, 2019.
boys basketball may look
into using the track to get a
little conditioning in.”
He said the unexpected
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Continued from Page B1
winter sports until Feb. 1,
and shortened the season
from eight weeks to seven.
Practice for traditional
winter sports was sched-
uled to begin Dec. 28.
The decision came
two days after Washing-
ton Gov. Jay Inslee imple-
mented statewide COVID-
19 restrictions that will
remain in place until Dec.
14.
“Sometimes, it’s hard
to keep up with every-
thing,” Hermiston athletic
director Larry Usher said.
“We were proactive and
shut down all athletics for
two weeks.”
Moss said she has had
her team in the gym two
to three days a week since
the end of September, and
that several of her play-
ers trained during the
summer.
“We have several girls
who were playing on elite
teams, and others with
individual trainers,” Moss
said. “They have put in
a lot of work. I’ve been
impressed with their lead-
ership. When the season
comes around, they will
be ready.”
Usher said the Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference met
last week and put together
a plan to start winter sports
Feb. 1. They sent their plan
to the WIAA.
“We needed to be more
proactive and realistic,”
Usher said. “With the new
government
shutdown,
there was no way we were
going to start Dec. 28.”
Usher said the MCC is
putting value on partici-
pation, even if that means
a shortened season and a
non-traditional schedule.
“It’s the right thing to
do right now,” Usher said.
“When it comes to sched-
uling, we will be as cre-
ative as we can. The big
question is with things
getting moved back to
Feb. 1, if that is realistic.
If so, are they going to be
able to participate in high-
risk sports (wrestling and
basketball).”
At one time, the WIAA
proposed moving fall
sports to January, but that
plan was quickly tabled.
“Slow pitch softball,
cross-country and soccer
in the snow is not produc-
tive,” Usher said.
Usher said all nine
member schools of the
MCC are on the same
page when it comes to get-
ting student athletes back
in action.
“We are concerned
about the mental and phys-
ical well being of our
kids,” Usher said. “We feel
bad for them. We want to
see participation for our
kids.”
With the winter sports
being pushed back, the
other seasons also have
new start dates in 2021.
The traditional fall
sports (football, volley-
ball, cross-country, girls
soccer and slow pitch soft-
ball) will begin practice
March 15. Football will
begin March 8.
Spring sports (baseball,
softball, track, golf, tennis
and boys soccer) will start
April 26.
In
Oregon,
Gov.
Brown’s mandate prohib-
its all K-12 school sports
indoors, including condi-
tioning, training and com-
petition. Outdoor training
is still allowed, provided
there is no contact of any
kind, and masks must be
worn at all times.
While
Washington
schools have pushed the
start of winter sports back
to Feb. 1, Oregon schools
still are scheduled to begin
Dec. 28, with competition
to start Feb. 11.
The Oregon School
Activities Association will
have a board meeting Dec.
7 to discuss whether win-
ter sports can go on as
planned.
The Oregon Health
Authority has prohibited
full-contact sports, such as
basketball and wrestling.
The restrictions cannot be
waived by the OSAA.
With sports seasons
being moved and short-
ened, the 2A boys and
girls state basketball tour-
nament at the Pendleton
Convention Center has
been canceled.
The tournament is sec-
ond only to the Pendleton
Round-Up in economic
impact for area businesses.
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interruption in practices
was particularly disap-
pointing because Pendleton
athletes had been taking
advantage of the opportu-
nities during the mini-ses-
sions throughout the fall.
“The last 10 weeks have
been great, our weight
training classes, our dance
teams and our volleyball
team have been able to use
the gym for workouts, con-
ditioning and practices and
we haven’t had a single
issue,” Somnis said.
Though the two-week
freeze is a setback, Good-
man is steadfast in pur-
suing the main objective
— maintaining responsibil-
ity, getting back to playing
sports and above all keep-
ing everyone safe.
“We all want sports
back, we all want the ath-
letes to have those experi-
ences, but we also have to
be responsible and if the
numbers are high right now
then let’s protect our kids,”
Goodman said.
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