In order to go undefeated through the 2020-21 winter sports season commencing with practices this week at Old Rochester Regional High School, the mission is a simple one, and it has nothing to do with box scores.
“I feel really good about the work adults will commit to, to be perfect, and we need to be perfect this winter,” said ORR Principal Mike Devoll during a special Zoom meeting held on Monday night for student-athletes and their parents.
With the December 9 vote of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee green-lighting the Bulldogs’ participation in winter-season varsity and junior-varsity sports, Director of Athletics Bill Tilden laid out the ground rules for student-athletes.
The sports themselves, boys and girls basketball, hockey, and swimming (there is no winter track this school year), will see safety modifications, but that was not the focal point of Monday night’s Zoom meeting. That had to do with the teamwork that happens when the game clocks are not running.
Rule 1: You have to wear a mask, and you have to bring your own water bottle. Tilden advised students to have several masks so that they can stay fresh. “If you show up without a water bottle, I’m telling coaches to send you home,” he said, noting that it’s unhealthy to try to make it through a practice without water. “We will close down a practice if we see kids sharing water bottles.” Schools will not be allowed this winter to use coolers and furnish water bottles.
As thrilled as Devoll and Tilden were to be having this discussion, it was delivered with a sober temperament.
“We continue to see students not taking that guidance seriously…. We need them to consider that the stakes are a little bit higher,” said Devoll, comparing the risk of self-quarantine to not only missing out on sports but the risk of shutting down their sport for their teammates. “The essence of high school sports is to be part of a team. There are teammates counting on us.”
By not participating in fall sports, a decision Devoll stressed is a delay and not a cancellation, much was learned during the last few months watching participating schools succeed and fail in various aspects and practices. The other side of that coin is ORR student-athletes are, on average, a step behind. Any misstep regarding safety precautions could cost a team a critical level of conditioning work.
A 10-day quarantine, Devoll reminded listeners, wipes out most of a season, as 2020-21 schedules are limited to a dozen games, all against South Coast Conference opponents. Limited to league play for the sake of simplicity, with each school adopting the same rules, SCC teams will face each other once with a league playoff at the end. It’s a short window of opportunity that will be laced with adrenaline, but how well the weaker links conduct themselves could decide the fate of many students’ sports seasons.
“The schools that competed in the fall get it, and most of the students who stayed with an AAU or a club team, I think they get it,” said Devoll, who added that students could not catch up on sports the way they have been able to get caught up in curriculum. “I’ve been wanting a full experience for our students for a long time, so this is a good step in that direction. Simply put, go Bulldogs. I’m excited to start…”
Some of the logistics: ORR will not allow spectators for its first two home basketball games. After that, up to two family members per player may attend. In the SCC, there are no fans allowed into away games.
Locker rooms at home are open to a maximum of 10 players for changing purposes only (no showers). Players may not leave anything in the locker room. Players in the second slot of practice time on a given day are not allowed to use the locker room. Bathrooms will remain open.
Before reporting to practice, students will use quick-response (QR) barcodes with their smartphones at various school locations to check-in and answer coronavirus-protocol questions, thereby saving their coaches valuable minutes allotted to practice. “If you don’t feel good, please stay home,” said Tilden, who doesn’t want to see any student taking chances with teammates potentially affected if they don’t feel well and still attend.
Basketball players are asked to space out their bags 6 feet apart in the gym. That will help structure social distancing during water breaks.
The trainer’s room, a popular hangout for players, is henceforth limited to three people who must use an E-Hallway pass for access. There will be no regular tape jobs; players are to wear preventative equipment instead. The three benches in the room will be limited to one person per bench so that the bench can be wiped down between visits.
For away games, the capacity on a 27-passenger bus, including the driver, is 12 varsity and 12 JV players and two coaches. Players must arrive dressed to play. There will be no changing rooms, only a small bathroom.
If a player becomes ill during practice or a home game, the trainer will determine a course of action. ORR has been using the auditorium stage as its Cares Room, but if it happens at an away game, that player would not be allowed on the team bus but would be held behind and await a ride home. Tilden said details are still in the works for such a case and may involve the coach.
If, for instance, ORR plays Seekonk on a Tuesday and Seekonk calls ORR on Thursday to say someone tested positive for COVID-19 or anytime during the same week, the ORR players and coach go into 10 days of quarantine. A return to play for a positive test requires two clearance levels: the COVID-19 clearance and then a second clearance based on an evaluation of physical conditioning for return to sports.
Coaches face the task of the game and an overall supervisory role. “Their jobs are going to be much easier if their athletes are cooperative,” said Tilden. “I don’t think the kids have had the fun part of school yet…. We want this season to happen in the worst way.”
Basketball teams were to begin practice on December 8, with varsity and junior varsity occupying the gyms with an hour in between to allow for proper cleaning. Boys basketball is practicing at the junior high and girls at the high school.
The Travis Roy Rink at Tabor Academy, ORR’s regular home ice, is not available, so the hockey teams are skating just over the Bourne Bridge at the John Gallo Ice Arena. The boys have tryouts and a 5:30-6:30 am time slot at Gallo. The girls, much shorter on numbers without the customary coop participants, will begin practice on Sunday, December 20.
Swimmers were scheduled to begin on Wednesday night from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, but Tilden was mindful of the south coast’s impending snowstorm forecast.
Typically, said Tilden, preseason talk focuses on team unity and concussion prevention and treatment, but those concerns have taken a back seat this winter. “We still need parents to pay attention,” he said.
Of the 113 students registered to play winter sports at ORR, 35 physicals were outstanding as of Monday night. The Massachusetts Department of Health would not allow schools to use an 18-month physical; it has to be no more than 13 months out.
There are user fees for winter sports, and Tilden said, “Not having winter track is a destroyer of the fee structure.” Without those 80 user fees, student-athletes were asked by Booster Club President Justin Shay to reach out for donations, saying that just two donations per student would get the Bulldogs through the winter season.
The hockey teams, said Shay, are averaging 2.7 donations per athlete, with the total funds raised up around $7,000 for ice time. “They’re slaying it!” he said, encouraging all the student-athletes to seek donations.
Tilden asked for delivery of user fees this week, if possible, or next week. “Let us know if you need more time,” he said, referencing payment plans. Those seeking a full waiver need to let the school know as soon as possible.
While COVID-19 protocols were addressed with a fair warning of repercussions, Tilden told the School Committee that the short winter season could have far-reaching positive implications. If high-risk sports like basketball and hockey can succeed, then it will make it that much easier for the moderate-risk sports outdoors in the spring. “We need to make the winter season work,” he said. “If any parents have any concerns, we want to know about it beforehand rather than after.”
Those with questions were invited to reach out to billtilden@oldrochester.org or justinshay@comcast.net.
By Mick Colageo