Low risk sports like girls tennis, cross country and golf appear likely as full varsity offerings, with moderate risk sports like field hockey, volleyball and boys soccer also played against other schools or as intramurals.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) announced last month that no state championships will be held for the fall sports, but said that schools could elect to play sports if they felt comfortable.

As a result, numerous private schools are jumping in enthusiastically, with some even choosing to play football, including Fredericksburg Christian Academy. Seton School (Manassas) is planning to compete in boys soccer, volleyball, cross country and girls tennis.

Saint John Paul the Great (Dumfries) will host cross country, girls tennis, cheerleading and volleyball, with field hockey and boys soccer conducted as intramurals.

Highland (Warrenton) and Wakefield (The Plains) are still deciding, but hope to safely host tennis, cross country and golf with social distancing guidelines enforced. They may play soccer, field hockey and volleyball within their own campus bubble as intramurals with nothing off campus.

Highland athletic director Gary Leake said there are about 28 boys soccer players on campus, enough for a weekly intramural game. “We can have two teams of 14. We could do a Blue-Gold weekly game,” he said, adding that the goal would be to play in October after the squads got some workouts in.

Highland also has 18-20 volleyball players, enough for two squads. As for field hockey, “We don’t have enough girls to run a full level game, but we can modify it to 7 vs. 7 to save numbers.”

Seton is fielding varsity, JV and junior high teams in field hockey and boys soccer, and also competing in cross country and girls tennis. Seton has four boys varsity soccer games scheduled, two each against Fredericksburg Christian and Chelsea Academy.

Due to social distancing, Leake said Highland’s squads are looking at tennis competition as singles-only. In golf, he said schools would not be sent out in mixed foursomes. Cross country could be done with staggered starts for safety.

Private school inquiries are up this fall as many parents look for schools offering on-campus learning. Wakefield and Seton have students in classrooms five days a week. Highland is on campus two days a week.

Sports are a huge part of the private school model. Leake said 80% of Highland’s upper school students play a sport; at Seton it’s 75%.

“We want to offer something. We feel like the kids need a physical outlet in the fall so we can hope to return to some type of normalcy in the late winter and spring,” said Leake. 

Wakefield, which opened Monday with 129 students in its upper school, spent the day going over safety protocols with its coaches and athletes. “I think all rosters will be full,” said athletic director Tee Summers, whose school hosts field hockey, boys soccer, volleyball, cross country and girls tennis, but does not play golf.

Summers called the protocol guidelines essential to having sports and expects his kids to take them seriously. “I think they’re excited to be back in school and are going to follow the guidelines in place. I think they know as long as they follow things it increases the likelihood of staying in school,” he said.

Wakefield’s safety protocols include pre-screening before practice with an athletic trainer. Temperatures will be taken and a questionnaire conducted. There will be plenty of hand sanitizing and social distancing at practice, he said.

Wakefield has ample fields on its 68 acres which should create no scheduling conflicts over field use. There are two fields as you start up the long driveway to the school and more fields at the top of the property behind the rear parking lots.