The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announced Wednesday that football and two other high-risk sports have been postponed until March 1 because of COVID-19 concerns.

The postponement, however, doesn’t apply to the city’s Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) and the Catholic High School Football League (CHSFL), which operate outside the NYSPHSAA, although the plan is something the two leagues may adopt at some point.

The principals of the CHSFL teams are supposed to meet and vote Friday on whether to play in the fall or not, while the PSAL has given little or no guidance at all.

“We’ve had zero direction,” said Tottenville football coach Brian Neville. “Other than two vaguely worded emails signed by not a person but the PSAL we as coaches in all sports have been left in the dark.”

“We look foolish having to answer questions the players and parents might have because we haven’t been told anything,” added New Dorp head coach Brian Murphy.

The uncertainty in the PSAL has led to the departure of a handful of Island grid players, who have transferred to New Jersey schools, where football practice is expected to begin Sept. 21.

Volleyball and competitive cheer are the other two sports the NYSPHSAA has delayed until March 1.

If that is the case, athletes who play football, volleyball and cheer and who traditionally play a spring sport will now have to choose what sport to play in the spring, which leads to a host of other problems.

“For the first time, kids will have to choose between football and lacrosse and baseball,” said an Island athletic director, who chose to remain anonymous. “There are going to several schools that struggle to field teams.”

In the meantime, the Catholic schools teams will begin practicing for low-risk sports on Sept. 21 to get set for an early October regular season. Those sports include soccer, tennis and cross country among others.

The PSAL, on the other hand, has yet to give any guidance on any sports. Athletic directors were sent an email earlier this week, saying all sports were still on hold.

Here is a portion of that letter, which was obtained by SILive/Advance.

“As shared publicly on Monday, August 23, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that certain lower-risk, school-sponsored sports in all regions may begin to practice and play beginning September 21st. While this is an important step toward being able to return to interscholastic sports, there are several factors PSAL must consider to determine how to ensure our students and community members are kept safe. The health and safety of our students continues to be our number one priority. We are reviewing all current information and are exploring the options available to us. As soon as we have an update we will share publicly. Until then the PSAL fall season continues to be postponed.”