Winter high school sports will begin before fall sports this school year.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused more turmoil as high school fall sports will move to the winter/spring of 2021, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association announced Thursday..

The first fall sports games (football, soccer, volleyball, cross country, tennis, girls golf) in Nevada high schools can be held on March 5, with the last games on April 10. Football practice can begin Feb. 13, and all other fall sports can begin practice Feb. 20.

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Winter sports (basketball, wrestling, skiing) can begin games Jan. 15, following the first practices on Jan. 2. The last games for winter sports are Feb. 20.

Spring sports (baseball, softball,swimming, track and field, boys golf) can begin practice April 3, with games starting on April 16 and finishing by May 22.

The six competitive weeks will include playoffs and there will not be any state tournaments.

The seasons will be much shorter so there is no overlap and students can still play more than one sport.

The new schedule is still subject to state government directives and could vary depending on which phase the state is in at the time.

The high school football season had been scheduled to start next month with the first games scheduled for Aug. 21.

Most Northern Nevada football programs have been doing summer conditioning drills, utilizing social distancing and wearing masks.

Reed coach Garrett Hughes, in his first season as head coach there, said getting some work in is good for the students.

“I want to keep doing what we’re doing, until they tell us we can’t, if that happens,” Hughes said. “Even if we’re delayed start or we’re in the spring, to me  it’s good for the kids to be here.”

He said conditioning is one of the safest times of the players days because coaches enforce distancing and wearing masks.

“I want to keep working out and conditioning as long as we can to give them something to do and something to look forward to,” Hughes said. “It’s important for their social and emotional health, their mental health to be around their friends, their teammates and their coaches.”

Douglas coach Ernie Monfiletto said his players are not using the weight room and haven taken a boot camp mentality, using 45-pound sand bags with each player assigned his own pair.

He said when in groups, they wear masks.

“You can’t expect them to run wind sprints or do something that’s causing them to breathe heavily and have a mask on,” Monfiletto said.

He said the players have to answer questions every day about their health and have their temperature taken.

“If they answer yes to anything, they’re sent home,” he said.

The Northern 5A football coaches have been meeting regularly this month to come up with different scenarios for a shortened or delayed season.

Clark County School District postponed all fall sports earlier this week. The Southern 5A coaches had proposed a delayed start to the season.

Spring sports this past school year were cut short, ending in the middle of March.

Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association executive director Bart Thompson wrote:

“The decision to delay the start of the athletic calendar was based, among many factors, on some the following: 

“That the master planner be student-centered and serve as the most optimal model for potential success in returning to play based on current COVID-19 circumstances;

“That the health, safety and welfare of student-athletes, coaches, athletic department leaders, contest officials and event staff be first and foremost;

“That the sport seasons be preserved by keeping traditional sports in their same groups;

“That the calendar be aligned as such (winter first, followed by fall and then concluded with spring) to give the best opportunity for each sport to be conducted as effectively and efficiently as possible while considering a variety of potential outside factors;

“That each season’s start and end dates be created so as to overlap as minimally as possible, preserving the philosophy that student-athletes should have the opportunity to participate in multiple sports seasons.”

Jim Krajewski covers high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.