Football was obviously the hot topic when the San Diego Section advisory committee recently met in the wake of the July 20 State CIF Office’s announcement of its modified calendar for the upcoming 2020-21 interscholastic sports season.
The calendar is being compressed from three seasons (fall, winter, spring) into two seasons (just fall and spring) for the upcoming school term, with virtually all practices and games occurring in the second semester.
Thunderstorms and humid weather descend on South County every August as well as the opening of high school football training camps.
While the region received a preview of the former over the first weekend of the month, the latter will not happen this year.
As things currently stand, practice for the upcoming football season will start on Dec. 14 in advance of the official kick-off to the 2020-21 season on Jan. 8.
Instead of practicing amid sweltering mid-summer heat, high school football players will be shivering in the coldest part of the Southern California winter.
But water polo is also a fall sport and, like football, will get going with practices in mid-December and games in early January.
But unlike football, water polo will face some additional challenges as both the boys and girls seasons have been combined into the same season. Boys water polo is normally a fall sport while girls water polo is a winter sport.
“Facilities, including pools, will prove to be a huge challenge,” Olympian coach Craig Collins said.
Not to mention scheduling if both the boys and girls teams for any school are not in the same league. Also, there is the additional challenge of scheduling junior varsity and novice games. Some local water polo programs carry three teams (varsity, junior varsity and novice), meaning there would be three games to be scheduled on any game day.
Would boys and girls practice together? Who would coach the boys team if the girls team had an away match?
Those are other issues.
Chad Kavanagh, who coaches both the Mar Vista boys and girls teams, was wired into the CIF advisory meeting.
“Most of the meeting was in regard to pool space and making sure that all teams would have a pool to use if we do start on Dec. 14,” he explained. “We also discussed the scheduling of games in regard to pool space, coaches time (coaching both genders during the same season), the championship schedule and officials’ ability to cover all the games.
“All of the issues and concerns were addressed and surprisingly it seemed that all of them were theoretically solved. We should be able to go on Dec. 14. I just hope that we are able to do so.”
The master schedule should be creative. The main concerns remain health and safety.
“Most coaches like many of us watch and wait and prepare for the season that is projected,” veteran Hilltop coach Ernie Medina said. “We’ll make it work.”
Hilltop High School boys soccer coach John Salts is a staunch supporter of new section commissioner Joe Heinz, who has the extremely untimely task of making everything work out in a fluid timeline of uncertainty.
“I have known Joe Heinz for 30-plus years and will say he is one of the most stand-up people I know,” Salts explained. “His integrity and desire to do what is best for people is second to none. I am sure as the new CIF commissioner that he has tried everything to make sure our high school athletes get to experience athletics this year.
“It will definitely be a difficult athletic year for high school sports in California. Many athletes, families and coaches would prefer a three-season year and have each season shortened to fit into the time frame allotted for high school athletics. We spoke of reducing preseason games and eliminating state and regional playoffs for this school year in order to accommodate the three-season concept. Unfortunately, that plan did not work out.
“This two-season athletic year will provide for the opportunity for athletes to play, however, it will cause numerous negative situations.”
Salts enumerated those situations.
•On campus facility space (boys and girls volleyball sharing one gym in the same season with three levels in each program equaling six teams).
•Pool space for boys and girls water Polo (two-hour slot to house two programs with three levels each). Again, six teams in one pool for two hours — how are they going to schedule matches and then find time to practice?
•Spring season is the worst. Boys and girls soccer with three levels per program (six teams), boys and girls lacrosse with two levels per program (four teams), and boys and girls track and field. Most of these teams/programs mainly use their school’s stadium field, especially since it is also baseball and softball season. Some sites utilize the outfield of either baseball and/or softball for soccer but will not be able to during this time.
“The biggest concern that I am expecting is the problem of multi-sport athletes,” Salts continued. “Traditionally, most coaches do not want their athletes playing multiple sports during the same season. But now you have most of the winter sports combined into the spring sports season and this new dilemma has arisen of athletes who have already established themselves on teams that play in both the winter and spring seasons.
“What is the athlete supposed to do? Choose which team/sport they like the most and quit the other? What if they are a varsity starter in both sports, how does this affect the teams’ chemistry or chances or winning, especially if we are talking about multiple athletes?
For example, one high school might have four of their five starting varsity basketball players also play a varsity sport in the spring like baseball or track. What happens to those athletes and teams?
Coaches will need to be more understanding and lenient this year in allowing athletes to play multiple sports in the same season due to this change. It is not ideal, but ultimately, we are here for the students and not our own agendas.
“Any way you look at it, this year will be a struggle. We do need to keep positive in the thought that at least we have a plan in the books for athletics.”
Modified 2020-21 Schedule
Fall sports
•Volleyball (boys and girls)
•Water polo (boys and girls)
•Cross country
•Traditional competitive cheer
•Football
•Field hockey
•Gymnastics
Spring Sports
•Badminton
•Soccer
•Swimming and diving
•Tennis (boys and girls)
•Wrestling
•Basketball
•Golf (boys and girls)
•Baseball
•Softball
•Track and field
•Competitive sport cheer
•Lacrosse
Chula Vista golfer scores division title at PAR BAR Junior Championship event
The San Diego County Junior Golf Association announced winners from the PAR BAR Junior Championship at the Arrowood Golf Course on July 24.
Chula Vista’s Jacob Paule was the boys championship division winner with a 5-under-par score of 137 (68-69) and 3-shot win over Rancho Santa Fe’s Jaden Hunter.
Paule, 16, who will graduate in 2022 from St. Augustine High School, registered 13 birdies over the 36-hole event and went wire-to-wire. This is his first title of the year and his fourth top 10 finish in the 2020 season.
Janae Leovao won the girls championship division with a one-shot victory over Lucy Yuan.
Leovao, 16, from El Camino High School in Oceanside, shot a 4-under-par 67 during the final round for her first win of the year and her sixth consecutive top 10 finish.
This marked the second consecutive week that a Leovao sister has won an SDJGA event. The previous week her sister Jasmine captured the Mike Riley and Family championship.
For more information on the San Diego County Junior Golf Association, visit the website at www.sdjga.org for all results and point standings.
Respected for pioneering junior golf programs since 1952, the San Diego County Junior Golf Association is committed to enriching the lives of youth through the game of golf.
The San Diego County Junior Golf Association has helped influence the lives of thousands of San Diegans with later success as business and civic leaders, parents, and individual citizens.
Point Standings/2020 Season
Boys Leaders
Points: 1. Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad) 1,440.99; 2. Jackson Moss (San Diego) 1,152; 3. Jacob Paule (Chula Vista) 1,126; 4. Jaden Hunter (Rancho Santa Fe) 870.5; 5. Ryan Voois (Ladera Ranch) 714; 6. Davis Lee (San Diego) 710; 7. Jacob Zhang (San Diego) 635.83; 8. Rei Harashima (Chula Vista) 631.83; 9. Lucaino Conlan (Carlsbad) 582; 10. Logan Kim (La Canada Flintridge) 545.33; 11. Evan Rafael (San Diego) 499.33; 12. Carlos Mattei (Chula Vista) 473.33; 13. Tyler Kowack (San Diego) 445.33; 14. Michael Behr (San Diego) 428; 15. Liam Koeneke (San Diego) 416; 16. Andre Nacional (Oceanside) 368; 17. Arman Rahgozar (San Diego) 351.33; 18. Jaeyoung (Jeffrey) Kwak (La Mirada) 317.33; 19. Connor Williams (Escondido) 300; 20. Adam Moss (San Diego) 290.5; 21. David Zhang (San Diego) 285.83; 22. Zander Grant (Rancho Santa Margarita) 251.83l 23. Steven Deutsch (Chula Vista) 245.33; 24. Nolan Kuszyk (La Canada Flintridge) 230; 25. Christopher Wardrup (Palm Desert) 210; 26. (tie) Matthew Broder (San Diego), Eoin O’Callaghan (San Diego) 192; 28. Shea Lague (Jamul) 186; 29. ShuQun Sun (San Diego) 180; 30. Vinny Fanucchi (Carlsbad) 176
Girls Leaders
Points: 1. Karen Tsuru (Carlsbad) 1,730; 2. Jasmine Leovao (Oceanside) 1.462.5; 3. Libby Fleming (Escondido) 1,206; 4. Estibaly Garcia Rubio (San Ysidro) 994; 5. Janae Leovao (Oceanside) 901; 6. Taylor Riley (San Diego) 801.83; 7. Anna Davis (Spring Valley) 630; 8. Melanie Reyes (Chula Vista) 628; 9. Sade Jackson (Imperial Beach) 600; 10. Annika Yturralde (La Mesa) 496; 11. Napua Glossner (San Diego) 464; 12. Lauren Williams (Escondido) 377.33; 13. Yaming Yang (San Diego) 374; 14. Sasha Lisnevsky (San Diego) 347; 15. Natrada Pongasin (Anaheim) 336; 16. Kathleen Keomahavong (San Diego) 333; 17. Lyn Pham (San Diego) 308; 18. Crista Izuzquiza (Coronado) 275; 19. Diana Lee (San Diego) 264; 20. Lucy Yuan (San Diego) 195
