(Thomas Trotman/CHSAANow.com)

It’s easy to see why there’s a bit of excitement and can even see the smile through the mask of Coach Matt Johannsen when he speaks about his current group of Fossil Ridge Sabercats, who have four senior starters and one junior who is off to an extremely hot start in our condensed basketball season.

Wednesday night was a special assignment for our Ball Fever column — Fossil Ridge vs. Fort Collins — and we were anxious to see what the “feel” was like in a rivalry game between a ton of young men who know each other well on both sides of the court.

Fort Collins came into the crosstown rivalry boasting six seniors of their own for Coach Curtis Glesmann and 1-1 in the early season.

As expected, with so many young men familiar with one another this game was a “feeling out” session early and we were tied at 17 early second quarter.

“I felt that we needed an energy boost and switched to the full court pressure”, said Coach Johannsen, and that decision turned into a 11-0 run for the Sabercats, who were stealing momentum 28-17 midway through the second quarter.

The Lambkins answered with back-to-back 3-point shots from seniors Dante Smith, who finished with team high 13 points, and Jackson Bigge, who finished the night with 10 points of his own.

The Sabercats took a 33-28 lead into the half after Smith and Bigge answered the run and an energized Fossil Ridge crew took over the second half dominating early and using their depth to wear down the Lambkins a bit.

A big part of that second half was 6-foot-4 senior Oklahoma Baptist commit Tyce Baldwin, who was quiet in the first half with three points, but got aggressive in the second half attacking the rim. He got in the paint and finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Fellow senior big man Braiden Dishman was getting it done inside as well with 12 points, and 6 rebounds.

Coach Johannsen also has a “run-through-a-wall” floor general in Luke Yoder, along with tough Owen Commesser who seem to us as “glue guy” seniors willing to do all the little things for team success.

“Commitment” was the word Coach Johannsen used when describing this special group of seniors and the entire team who have pivoted during these pandemic times and keeping their circle small — on and off the court — in order to make this season a reality.

Senior leader Tyce Baldwin spoke highly of his team and fellow seniors: “Many of us have played together since fifth grade and we’re just excited to have the opportunity to play.”

Baldwin was able to commit to Oklahoma Baptist prior to the season starting, knowing it is the right athletic and academic fit for him, and takes all the pressure off the senior season he can now enjoy with his crew.

Speaking of that senior crew, there’s also a pretty special junior in the Sabercat starting line up in 6-foot-2 guard Brock Mishak. First opportunity seeing this young man play tonight and his 19 points (9-10 free throws), 8 rebounds, 4 assist, and 2 steals were “stat-stuffin” pacing the Sabercats to this 70-54 win over rival Fort Collins.

When our CHSAANow.com preseason rankings were released, I quickly noticed that Fossil Ridge received 40 votes but were left just outside of the top 15. Something told us right away that would change quickly and Coach Johannsen would soon have this crew earning attention.

They are now 3-0 in the condensed season, No. 14 in our poll and they have the depth, senior leadership, and athleticism to make some serious 5A noise before things are said and done in this unprecedented season!

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

We celebrated this week when boys golf started not only practice on Monday, but competition on Thursday. It marked the start of returning to Colorado high school athletics and activities for the 2020-2021 school year.

Many have said that CHSAA is in a no-win situation following the release of the 2020-21 activities calendar. I strongly disagree. We were in a no-win situation when I had to deliver the news that our 2020 basketball championships were being cancelled. We were in a no-win situation when, without a voice in the decision, I had to deliver the news that athletics and activities would be cancelled this past spring.

For the past three months, we have had a voice at the table. We advocated and received approval, with exceptions, to move forward. Is it ideal? No. But the approval given to us by our state, health and educational officials positioned 29 education-based and interscholastic sports for a better chance to start, conduct a season, advance to the postseason, and end with a culminating event.

I have said often since March, and I reiterate again in this update, the safety of all parties involved with the high school experience will always take precedence over a game, scholarship, club season or personal choices.

The social, emotional, mental health, well-being and belonging to something bigger than individualism isn’t defined by what season students play in.

My only priority as the Commissioner in the past 148 days was to get our students back to the court, back to the field, back in the pools, back on the stages — by any means necessary.

The CHSAA doesn’t get to act as a rogue organization. Resuming athletics and activities required answering and demonstrating assured safety measures to many different entities — including state, health, educational decision makers.

We are not recreational sports, youth sports, or club sports.

Participation in locally-controlled practices and outside events this summer led to an increase in district and team shutdowns across the state of Colorado. They didn’t all go “just fine,” as some on social media insist. Statewide county health departments documented statewide instances of positive cases and social spread amongst the population we serve.

High school events, with one positive case, have the potential to shut down classrooms. In rural areas, a positive case has the potential, even for 14 days, to shut down a K-12 district.

Contact sports, by all health metrics, pose a risk challenge to contact tracing, isolation, and mitigating the potential spread.

This is not about opinions from epidemiologists, political affiliations, or narratives. This is a fact. This isn’t about low risk populations or student deaths. It is about negatively impacting the educational institutions we serve.

Sports and activities are not the purpose of our schools. Sports and activities are an extension of our schools.

I don’t expect everyone to read this update from a bigger lens outside their own opinion, and consider all the data points and information. Nor is that an expectation because that is my job.

The priority of the Response team were to resume sports and activities, provide equitable high school opportunities for all students across the state, and support the many challenges Colorado superintendents and educational leaders are facing to “Return to Learn.” This was supported 100% by our office.

We are a statewide educational-based association with 363 public, private, and charter voluntary members, serving 178 school districts. We answer to state, health, educational agencies, and our members schools.

The seasons will be conducted as released and approved. There are no negotiations nor comprises on student safety with the many unknowns surrounding COVID-19. We will err on the side of safety and risk minimization. No waiver or declaration of our rights will change the decision.

Participation in co-curricular activities is a privilege afforded to us as an extension of the academic environment.

It is important to note that green-lighting five different seasons and championships based upon differences in regional COVID-19 rates is an unreasonable ask when alternative and creative opportunities can be met at the local level to support student engagement and the well-being of our students.

The Association will conduct one competitive season for each of the 29 athletic and activity events as approved by the state’s COVID Response Team. 

Threats to move, protest, boycott, petitions, letters to the Governor, and so on, are all within our given rights. We recently approved some temporary safeguards for CHSAA student-athletes that will ensure that our students won’t be displaced by transfers coming in or returning back after playing another state for athletic purposes. We will do everything possible to uphold the integrity and credibility of education-based participation.

The Governor’s COVID Response Team has approved the seasons for the 2020-2021 competitive season. Our Association has accepted their decision and will work to make it happen, because at the end of the day it is about providing opportunities for Colorado high students. It is about providing social interaction opportunities whether in a practice or a competitive setting.

We have successfully accomplished getting our students and coaches back on the court and field. Our resumption to conduct 29 activities is outlined for 2020-2021.

The Association is excited to be given the opportunity to reconnect our students when they need it, now more than ever in their world of uncertainty.

148 days ago, I couldn’t deliver a message of “hope.” So I stand today on my introduction: This is a time of Celebration! Colorado athletics and activities are back!

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The football season is on the horizon, and some manufacturers have created face guards for football helmets specific to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The NFHS, in conference with doctors on the national Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, released a document this month about rules considerations for the 2020 season as it relates to COVID-19. Some of the recommendations are specific to face coverings in football.

The document states that “cloth face coverings are permissible.” It further states that plastic face shields are not permissible — “unless integrated into the face mask and attached to the helmet and clear without the presence of any tint.”

These newly marketed face shields meeting the above criteria (fully integrated into the face mask, attached to the helmet, clear with no tint) are approved by the NFHS, but are not mandated to be used at this time.

If these items do become mandated, CHSAA member schools will hear from our office to confirm.

While we all look forward to another great CHSAA football season, the safety of participants, coaches, and officials are at the forefront of discussions. As with any new product to market, there is excitement and a rush to purchase by many.

At this time, these items are not mandated at the national level from the NFHS, nor are they mandated at the state level by the CHSAA.

Personally, with limited data as to the extent these items successfully decrease potential exposure to respiratory droplets, I would caution against a potential false sense of security these may provide.

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

The CHSAA team is working non-stop, with some challenges ahead, to resume all athletics and activities in their designated seasons.

As a membership and an office, our state is a national leader in student mental health education, inclusion and diversity, and participation opportunities per capita. So, trust that we know our “Why”!

We value diverse opinions as we navigate our next steps. So to ease the hysteria regarding having a voice, there were parents on the task force, including one with an incoming football senior and looking to play at the next level. Dad played collegiate baseball.

Furthermore, our office is made up of former high school, collegiate and professional athletes, and Hall of Fame inductees. We are former coaches, administrators and officials. We are parents, including parents of current, future, and former high school athletes.

We get it!

You can trust that my decisions aren’t motivated by politics, fear, or threats of liability or legal action. Nor are they motivated by money. We have lost tremendously during this pandemic, without state basketball championships, spring championships, and refunding of membership participation fees.

We are dedicated and committed to resuming athletics and activities in the 2020-2021 school year responsibly: within the proposed statewide educational models, all viewpoints of health data, state and county guidelines, opinions — including parents, coaches, educators — and in communication with other state associations across the country.

This will be our timeline and we will begin to limit our share of information as it appears our transparency has opened us for attack. We will hold future decisions closer to the vest to reduce your anxiety and the need to attack the very group that is advocating — no, fighting — through these unknowns and chaos for your children.

Trust that we are focused on resuming all activities and athletics because we know participation supports the social, mental and physical well-being of all our students. We provide you with the state and national stats, but I do appreciate the reminders.

We are in this together, and we will make decisions not through threats and personal attacks but with the safety of students — it is bigger than low risk populations — coaches, officials crews (we need them), score keepers, ticket takers, security, volunteers, managers, bus drivers, custodians, vendors, site administrators, and parents in the forefront.

No answers are definitive at this time because the state and health guidelines are fluid, but we are moving with intent towards fully resuming.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

For several weeks, Americans have been awaiting answers to several questions. When will restaurants restart dine-in services? When will hair salons and gyms be open? When will people be able to congregate for worship services? And, of course, when will education-based sports and activities return?

And the answer to the all-important last question is the same as the first three – it varies from state to state.

If there was ever any doubt about the popularity and interest in high school sports and performing arts – and how much these programs have been missed during the past three months – it was erased last week as the NFHS released its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document.

The response was non-stop through the mainstream media as well as our social media platforms as the first nationwide discussion about the return of high school sports and other activities was in full swing.

Since that disappointing week in mid-March when it seemed like all of life came to a halt, millions of people – from high school students, coaches, parents, administrators, officials and fans – have been looking forward to the return of school-based sports and other activity programs. And the guidance document offered some hope that soon the light at the end of tunnel will not be the oncoming train we have felt for many weeks.

Now, state high school associations are developing timetables and protocols for return of activities in their states. And those guidelines will be different from state to state. This is not a one-size-fits-all plan. Depending on the specific circumstances of a state with respect to the containment of the virus, its progression through the various phases of returning to activities could be much different than another state.

As the guidance document developed by the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee noted, our hope is that students can return to school-based athletics and activities in any and all situations where it can be done smartly. When it comes to education-based sports and performing arts within our nation’s schools, nothing is more important than the health and safety of the participants AND the individuals conducting those programs.

Some individuals have expressed concern that our guidance document is too cautious, noting that some non-school youth programs have already restarted in some areas.

In one state this past week, a non-school sports program was allowed to restart because the “data shows children are less affected by the coronavirus.” While the preponderance of evidence shows that to be true, plans in education-based activities will include also protection for adults who coach, officiate and administer those events, which may be seen as a more conservative approach.

Within high school sports, the drive of coaches and dreams of parents cannot run ahead of player safety. Last week, a successful high school football coach with three previous state titles was suspended for allegedly holding practices. And there have been reports of parents considering moving to another state with fewer COVID-19 cases to enhance the chance of their son playing football and earning a college scholarship.

The NFHS, through its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, took action in developing its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document. The various state high school associations are taking action in the coming weeks in developing plans for a return to activities at the state level.

Now, we would ask parents and other fans to take action – and that action is patience. The urge to return to normal is understandable, but the path back to where we were three months ago will take time, and that “time” will not happen at the expense of the safety and well-being of everyone involved in high school sports and performing arts programs.

(Poudre Schools)

Reopening is the key word in sports at all levels right now. Every day, there are new projections for when the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball will resume – and if the National Football League will start on time this fall.

Along with leaders of youth-level sports and the NCAA, the NFHS and its member state associations are exploring all options for conducting sports this fall. And while we all want answers, the truth is that there are more questions than answers at this point.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading national medical authority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, told ESPN earlier this week that “the virus will make the decision for us” on whether sports will return this fall. His comments underscore the need for leaders of all levels of sport in the United States to exercise great caution as we reengage in activities.

Without a doubt, education will play a larger role in the decision-making process for high school programs than for non-scholastic programs. Despite the significant loss of revenue that could occur at some levels if programs remained closed, health and safety concerns must take priority when it comes to reopening the sport or activity.

At the high school level, sports and other activity programs will most likely not return until schools reopen. High school sports and performing arts are education-based programs and complete the learning process on a day-to-day basis. As such, academics during the school day and sports and other activities after school are inseparable.

Could any of those sports and activities return without fans? That option is certainly not one schools favor, but it is a very real possibility. While a few state associations opted for that arrangement to complete state basketball tournaments, that is not a desired ongoing plan for school sports. Besides, this troubling question would have to be addressed: If it is unsafe for fans in the stands, is it safe for the students to be participating?

Students, parents and other fans in the stands cheering for and supporting student-athletes, and applauding from the theatre audience, are among the most wonderful aspects of education-based activities. Before accepting that arrangement, efforts will continue to make attending events a safe experience for everyone.

While we remain uncertain as to the timetable for the return of high school sports and other activities, we believe that when these programs return – and they will return – that everyone will bring renewed zeal to provide the 12 million participants in these programs the best experience possible.

One of the challenges to solving the crystal ball of high school sports and activities this fall is the uncertainty of the spread of the virus as states begin to reopen this month. The NFHS will continue to work with its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee on an ongoing basis to provide the most updated information.

With the non-negotiable tenet of safety for student activity participants, expect every avenue to be pursued so that students can be involved in football, soccer, volleyball, field hockey, speech, debate, music and many other school activities this fall.

(Geoff Sager/GPSImaging16.com)

On Monday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association became the 51st and final NFHS member state high school association to cancel its spring sports championships due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation announcements that began in late March, stretched to early May as states made every attempt possible to conduct spring sports and other activity programs.

Driven by a desire to offer perhaps a few weeks of competition – particularly for graduating seniors – many states waited as long as possible to move from postponed to cancelled, ultimately forced to make decisions when schools were closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the academic year.

While the leaders of our state associations knew that spring activities could not occur if schools did not re-open, and that the health and safety of the millions of participants ultimately drove these decisions, having to make these announcements was perhaps the most difficult task they had experienced as state leaders.

“We are disappointed for the thousands of New Jersey student-athletes who will be unable to compete this spring,” said Larry White, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. “While we remained hopeful to the end, and left open every possibility, competition simply is not feasible given the circumstances. It has been a harrowing time for everyone, and we know our student-athletes are extremely disappointed. That said, these unfortunate circumstances may have put an intriguing challenge in the path of our young people. As New Jersey’s own Vince Lombardi once said, ‘It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.’ We’re confident all our kids will get back up and stand tall.”

Rhonda Blanford-Green, commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Association, showed her emotions in making the difficult decision in her state:

“This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities. Our hats are off to the many seniors who have shown maturity and resolve as their culminating year of high school has been impacted beyond activities and athletics due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 will not be forgotten.”

Craig Anderson, executive director of the Illinois High School Association, said, “Our thoughts are with all the impacted students, coaches and communities, especially the seniors. It will be difficult for them to find a silver lining in all of this, but we stress that even if they don’t get the chance to compete again at the high school level, they are better for having been a part of their respective high school teams. They were exposed to life lessons in teamwork, leadership and overcoming adversity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.”

What was at stake and who was affected by these cancellation announcements? More than 500 girls and boys spring sports championships in about 18 sports and involving about three million student-athletes.

Along with multiple classes for both boys and girls in track and field, other sports affected this spring were baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, soccer, flag football, boys volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, gymnastics, riflery, judo, Unified track and field and ultimate Frisbee. Also grounded were perhaps another million participants in band, choir, orchestra, speech, debate, robotics and other activity programs.

And last, but far from least, we remember the thousands of volunteers who make these events happen every year – ticket-takers, concession stand workers, booster club parents, meet officials and the leaders in communities throughout the country where these events were planned.

We thank these individuals for their faithful service year after year, and we look forward to the day we are all back together again.

(Paul Soriano)

During this shutdown of normal life in our nation, we are learning to deal with a new challenge – how to handle the unexpected time on our hands at home. Simply keeping up with the days of the week is a major accomplishment!

While we anxiously await the re-opening of schools and a return of high school sports and performing arts, this down time can be used in positive ways to take advantage of educational opportunities. And kudos to some individuals who already are seizing those opportunities – men and women who officiate high school sports.

Two weeks ago, we began to offer the 11 officiating courses on the NFHS Learning Center (NFHSLearn.com) free of charge, and the response has been nothing short of amazing. By the end of March – merely a week into this new opportunity – more than 5,200 courses had been taken.

In addition to veteran officials fine-tuning techniques in one or more of the seven sports featured in these courses, this has been a great opportunity for individuals interested in officiating to take a free course to determine their interest level. 

Those of us in leadership positions are so appreciative of these individuals who give freely of their free time to officiate high school sports or adjudicate music contests. We would suggest that everyone – student-athletes, coaches, parents and other fans – use this down time to do the same.

At various times this year before the shutdown of schools, officials have been the victim of verbal and physical abuse. Inappropriate behavior by parents and other fans was causing officials to quit before they even reached two years on the job.

And yet, in the past three years, more than 35,000 individuals have signed up to become officials through the NFHS’ #BecomeAnOfficial campaign and 5,200 courses that have been taken in the past couple of weeks by men and women who want to give back to high school sports. These are good signs more people will continue to be involved in officiating when the games return.

But what about the parents and other fans in the stands? Will their behavior be changed upon return? The conclusion of the New Mexico Activities Association’s state basketball tournament last month provided an interesting perspective on the impact of fans to the atmosphere at high school sporting events.

After completing the first two days of its state tournament with fans in the stands, the NMAA conducted the final three days without fans because of concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Dana Pappas, commissioner of officials for the NMAA, noted the following about the final three days of competition:

“Officials would make a call and if coaches had a question about it, they asked – calmly and respectfully. In huddles during time-outs, coaches just talked to their players, without raised voices. The behavior of coaches on the sidelines from Thursday through Saturday was in stark contrast to what we witnessed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Perhaps they did not feel the need to be overly emotional for the benefit of their fans.

“My hope is that the absence of sport throughout the world gives us all a moment to gain perspective and do a ‘gut check’ as to the kind of fans we are at contests. If the quality of the game is unchanged (or even better) without fans there to scream at the coaches, officials and players, then is that behavior really necessary when the games resume?”

The message here is that while the games can continue without fans, the ideal situation is for stands full of fans positively cheering for their teams.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The following message was sent to all CHSAA schools on Thursday morning.

All,

There are so many inspiring words and letters out there to tell us to hang in there, we are together, this will pass. Although I read them and believe, there is still this vague and hollow place that says, “What’s next?”

Many decisions to make and once made, I return to that place: “What’s next?”

I understand and want to provide you with definitive answers but many next steps are out of our control. Our state and health officials have been thoughtful at keeping us in the loop on decisions that are forthcoming which alter decisions we are making at the Association level daily — sometimes hourly.

Our goal is to keep you informed without inundating you with each new announcement. I have had more Zooms, Go-To Meetings and conference calls in the last week than I have had in the last ten years. I am grateful that others outside the athletic world understand the importance and impact of our programs to the educational decisions that are being made, and have included us in their discussions.

We will get through this because of all the attributes we espouse as education-based leaders: Teamwork, perseverance, integrity, strong character, and, above all, understanding that we must lead and make decisions for something bigger than ourselves.

We won’t have all the answers but the ones we give will be led by what we believe is best for the safety and well-being of those we are responsible to protect.

These decisions have been extremely difficult because unlike the decisions made on the professional and national level, our students and school communities aren’t faceless ticket buyers. We are connected. We have been CHSAA participants, the seniors chasing gold, coaches with a dream, the parent wanting this experience for our kids.

These are unprecedented times that require us to embrace the emotions but make the best decisions while facing the unknowns.

As dedicated and servant leaders, I know you are reaching out to take care of your staffs and students, their lives have and are being disrupted. They need to know that you are there for them. We need to be intentional on checking on them and each other.

In the times of pondering What’s next?, here’s a gentle reminder as you adjust to your new normal: Please don’t forget to take care of YOU!

(David Johnson/davidjohnsonphotography.org)

On Friday afternoon, about 14 hours or so after the news that the remainder of the state basketball tournaments had been canceled, Springfield science teacher Van Walker published a letter to all Baca County basketball athletes to express admiration for their leadership.

It’s a letter which helps put the COVID-19 pandemic into perspective.

Walker wrote: “You may not be able to talk about that championship game in 2020, but you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you were an integral part of a far greater team that played a critical role in slowing the 2020 pandemic in Colorado, the United States, and perhaps the world.”

Baca County — located in the Southeast corner of the state, along the border with Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico — had three teams still alive in the Final 4 round: Springfield and South Baca in the Class 1A girls tournament, and Walsh in 1A boys. Springfield’s girls hadn’t made the tournament in 38 years.

The letter is addressed to Baca County’s basketball athletes, but we are sharing it here as the sentiment expressed within applies to all of our athletes across the state.

Walker’s full letter, published on Springfield’s website, is below:

To all Baca County state basketball tournament athletes, coaches and their families:

Congratulations on your accomplishments and the numerous hours each of you has sacrificed to reach the pinnacle of your season, and perhaps, your high school athletic endeavors. Understandably, each of you is disappointed that your seasons were not able, due to circumstances far beyond any one person’s or one organization’s control, to culminate those efforts in the traditional format. No amount of words can describe what you are feeling and experiencing nor can they soothe that pain.

However, please look at yourselves as the leaders that you are. Your leadership, as part of a team, has enabled you to accomplish your basketball goals, and today you distinguish yourselves as leaders of a much larger team; the leaders of the worldwide health crisis team. Today, your selflessness, your optimism, and your strength of character demonstrate powerfully, to everyone in our state and beyond, that you, as leaders, will always choose the correct course of action, rather than despair, that you will always elect to maintain a professional, winning disposition over the louder negativity of the masses and you will persevere through this crisis and others that may assail you or any teams with which you affiliate, through your indomitable spirit. The world needs leaders like you especially today and in the midst of uncertainty; your actions are the compass that guides, reassures, and inspires others to unify, to cooperate, and to overcome.

So while you are unable to grasp the very prize that you desired and in the manner in which you had envisioned, now you have stepped into history on a much larger scale. You may not be able to talk about that championship game in 2020, but you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you were an integral part of a far greater team that played a critical role in slowing the 2020 pandemic in Colorado, the United States, and perhaps the world.

Your selfless actions are commendable and reflect great credit upon each of you. We look upon each of you with tremendous approbation, we extend our admiration to each of you, and we are grateful to have you as leaders in Baca County.

With Admiration and Respect,

Springfield High School