[ad_1]
There’s no doubt the fall sports season will look different in several ways, from the limited events and shrinking the length of the season to keeping contests within conferences without any of the big invitationals typically set to begin later this month and continue into November.
A lack of fans in the stands will create a less-than-perfect atmosphere but the hope is that these steps will help curtail the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately save lives.
Soccer, cross country, girls tennis, and girls swimming and diving were given the go-ahead to open practice Aug. 17, as previously planned.
Before players can walk onto the football field at Richfield High School, everyone must complete a series of checks to keep everyone as healthy as possible. Temperature checks, a question and answer form and plenty of hand sanitizer are a few of the steps teams are taking to keep everyone safe as possible.
Moving football and volleyball to March certainly creates a void in the schedule but at the same time creates new opportunities in more practice and training for those involved in those delayed sports. It also creates opportunities in the fall for those football or volleyball players to come out for another sport or study more for that next big exam in the classroom.
In talking with a few area football coaches and activities directors, they are collectively taking a positive approach, being leaders by action. Of course, they are frustrated by the virus and not being able to do things as they have in the past but procedures are in place to keep every safe, not to take opportunities away.
Still allowing those less-risk sports to proceed with a conference-only schedule is another smart step while minimizing exposure with no more than two or three teams participating at once will take some adjustment for some sports.
Section and state tournaments will look different and the MSHSL has yet to determine what those culminating events – a term used by the league to describe anything outside of the regular season – look like. Perhaps a single-elimination section tournament to declare the state tournament participants without playing a state tournament? Or maybe a senior-only showcase similar to what baseball concluded with recently?
Either way, we will have high school sports in some form, as long as that district has not gone to distance learning, exclusively.
College and pro sports continue to wade through the murky waters to find that perfect balance between competition and safety. Smartly, all major college conferences have at least postponed fall sports while some have outright canceled the upcoming fall sports, including football.
The NHL, NBA, MLS and WNBA are using specific sites to be able to control as much as possible and limit the chance of an outbreak. MLB took a different approach by continuing traveling and some teams have now had exposure and outbreaks. It will be interesting to see what route the NFL goes after canceling preseason games with less than a month before what was supposed to be the start of the season in early September.
It was a bit odd but a welcome sign to see the Lynx, Loons, Twins and Wild back in action over the last few weeks. The Loons run to the semifinals of the MLS is Back tournament was fun to watch and shows signs of what could possibly be a solid run if the regular season resumes this fall.
The Wild did a lot right in the opener against Vancouver but seemed to be playing on their heels over the next three games to take an early exit from the play-in best-of-five series. Even it was just four games, it was refreshing to see the team back on the ice, even if the local DaBeauty League took a hiatus from what’s become a summer tradition to catch area pros along with some of the top college and high school hockey players in the area at Braemar Ice Arena in Edina.
Girls hockey fundraiser
Bloomington Girls Hockey/Jefferson Girls Hockey will host its annual golf tournament on Friday, Sept. 11 at Dwan Golf Course in Bloomington. Golfer fee is $100 and includes golf plus a post-event that has not yet been determined. Sponsorship and hole sponsorships are available. Register at jaguargirlshockey.org.
Boys hockey
The cooperative boys hockey program between Southwest Christian High School and Richfield High School will head to the Wright County Conference starting in the fall of 2021. A 13-0 vote by conference schools voted in favor to add SWC to the East Division joining Jordan, Delano, Holy Family, Hutchinson, and Mound-Westonka.
Follow Jason Olson on Twitter at @SunSportsJason.
Copyright © 2020 at Sun Newspapers/ APG Media of East Central Minnesota. Digital dissemination of this content without prior written consent is a violation of federal law and may be subject to legal action.
[ad_2]
Source link