Thoughts on the Lansing Protest.

Written Saturday August 29th at 1:00 PM

Thursday and Friday night was supposed to be the start of football for 2020. Players in helmets, pads, jerseys battling it out for their school to earn that trip to Ford Field.

However there was no whistles, flags, or hitting on football fields played on those two days.

Volleyball and swimming and diving have been practicing outdoors but they can’t get indoors.

Instead there was a protest in Lansing.

Numerous football players, cheerleaders, volleyball players, parents, and coaches throughout the state went to the capital in protest demanding that Governor Gretchen Whitmer for them to play.

Whitmer has an executive order on indoor gyms which has impacted volleyball and girls swimming in most of the state and boys soccer was also in limbo as well. In the Upper Peninsula and areas around Alpena and Traverse City they are going as business as usual.

People have blamed MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl for not letting certain sports start back up. Uyl did everything right, he and the league are following Whitmer’s executive orders like everybody else. Uyl and the MHSAA gave the go ahead for all fall sports except for football which was moved to the spring last week.

But the reason the most of the state can’t enjoy the rest of the sports starting up is on Whitmer, not Uyl.

The MHSAA did send out a statement regarding the protest “We empathize with these players and understand their disappointment. We will continue to advocate for these student-athletes”

This didn’t have to be this way if Whitmer allowed students to play. This didn’t have to be politicized sadly she made it that way. Kids are citizens as well, they will be future voters, why are they the ones getting punished??? Yes there are risks and no one wants to get this virus but the mental and emotional aspect of not playing might be worth getting the virus even though the virus is deadly.

The majority of schools are starting online but some schools are starting in person or a hybrid. Most athletic and extra circular activities are in smaller groups, not large gatherings.

Detroit Public Schools superintendent Nikolai Vitti sent a letter to Whitmer and Uyl to reinstate football even though I doubt that will happen.

The majority of sports are played to gain new friends, relationships, and for kids to fit in. Very few play them for college scholarships.

I noticed that the majority that have democratic governors are not playing football in the fall which further enhance the political debate.

What the protest in Lansing showed is the strong majority of athletes, coaches, parents, and support staff through the State is unified when it comes to athletics.

It’s time for Whitmer to step up and let the kids play.

Pontiac Schools Postpones Fall Sports.

Written Monday August 24th at 2:30 PM

Pontiac Schools has became the second OAA school not to hold fall sports this year.

Phoenix Athletic Director Lee Montgomery made the painful decision in a letter to the community.

Here is the message he wrote

"Dear Pontiac School District Athletes, and families,

The MHSAA has been working extensively with the governor's office and other entities across the state to determine the safest and best way to handle fall sports during the pandemic. At this time although a statewide decision has not been reached, Pontiac and our surrounding districts have been deemed as a region unsafe for fall sports competitions.

Although this is saddening news for all of us, the safety of our athletes, staff, families, and competitors is imperative for all of us. We will be adhering to the MHSAA guidelines as will our fellow competing districts and will not be pursuing a fall season. Our hope is that we can revisit these sports in the spring.

The decision to not hold fall sports was not an easy one but it's the right decision at this time. In addition to the MHSAA determination there are a number of factors that have to be considered. The risk of catching the virus is high in sports settings, we do not have approval from the governor's office to practice in gymnasiums yet, with schools beginning virtually many athletes will not have access to transportation to and from practice and other districts cancelling fall sports directly impacts our ability to compete

Should circumstances change we'll let you know. We will continue to provide resources and tools for our athletes to continue conditioning and to prepare for a possibility for a sports season in the spring.

Thank you for continuing to show us all what it means to be a Phoenix and continuing to rise in any situation. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me."

Pontiac joins Ferndale as the other OAA school not to hold fall sports.

Thoughts

There is a mental component to this which safety is paramount but the mental mindset will certainly be tested. I have said this before, I really hope they have a plan in place for the mental and emotional side to postponing fall sports.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

MHSAA needs Whitmer's Approval For Volleyball, Soccer, and Swimming and Diving to start back up.

Written Thursday August 20th at 5:00 PM

The MHSAA made it's decision on volleyball, boys soccer, and swimming and diving and Executive Director Mark Uyl has had enough.

The league announced that volleyball, boys soccer, and swimming and diving have been given the go ahead to compete however not all of the State can have that. In regions six and eight which is the northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula they have been given the green light however in the rest of the regions they have not yet.

In the regions where they can't compete yet they can still practice outdoors as they are still in phase four while regions six and eight are in phase five.

Uyl responded on the Huge Show that the league has been getting a ton of criticism from parents and coaches and he's pretty much fed up with all of it. Uyl according to a tweet from Brandon Folsom of the Port Huron Times Herald wrote that he hinted that Uyl was "sick of the MHSAA getting backlash from fans/coaches for following Governor Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders that have limited the start of high school sports."

"Our patience are running thin as we continue to be the windshield of taking criticism on our delay and indecisiveness (to begin school sports)" Uyl mentioned.

Volleyball and swimming haven't been given the go ahead because they are sports that are played indoors. In phase four, you can only have ten people. In phase five you can have more people.

Why soccer was delayed according to John Johnston he said that needs the go ahead from Whitmer because of social distancing concerns.

Regions six and eight can host schools in the rest of the regions but the rest of the regions can't host them as of yet because they are still in phase four.

"Our council has made clear it is ready to offer students these opportunities pending approval from Governor Whitmer that we may do so. I have been told that within a week future guidance will address athletic issues that exist in current executive orders. We are awaiting that guidance." Uyl added.

The MHSAA also gave decisions regarding football and the other spring sports.

Football has been given 16 voluntary coach-player contacts with helmets starting from the time frame of August 24th until October 31st with no competition or practice from other schools are allowed at that time. Spring sports have been given a chance to have 16 voluntary coach-player workouts from September 8th until October 31st.

The MHSAA announced that middle school and junior high schools can begin practices on August 24th if they want to with safety protocols in place. They can proceed except for football based on the decisions from the league.

It is clear the high school sports is being politicized in the State.

The MHSAA Representative Council was ready to give the go ahead for all regions for swimming and diving, volleyball, and boys soccer but they were unable to do so and is seeking guidance from Whitmer's office about current executive orders as they relate to school gyms and pools.

"High school sports have become a political agenda, If your mad and want to comment something negative direct that to the governor not the MHSAA. The MHSAA has done everything they can ensure player safety and set guidelines. It's in the governor's hands and always has been" said Troy Athletic Director Shane Hynes on Twitter.

What Uyl basically did was give the decision to Whitmer and that he did everything on his end. If parents and coaches want someone to blame, blame Whitmer not Uyl or the MHSAA.

There is a real clear disconnect between the MHSAA and Whitmer's office.

"The MHSAA and Representative Council are committed to following all current and future executive orders and safety precautions however we need more answers before we can give our member schools the go ahead to play each other again and the majority of our schools are in regions that are not yet allowed to take part in volleyball, soccer, or swim" Uyl concluded from the press release.

HomeTown Life
https://www.hometownlife.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/08/20/mhsaa-approves-fall-competition-waits-state-guidance/5606924002/

MLive Article
https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2020/08/mhsaa-approves-fall-sports-in-regions-6-and-8-rest-of-michigan-on-hold.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=highschoolsports_sf

MHSAA Press Release
https://www.mhsaa.com/News/Press-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9191/MHSAA-Council-Authorizes-Competition-in-Volleyball-Soccer-Swimming-Diving-Where-Allowed-Also-Adds-Offseason-Contact-Days-for-Football-and-all-Spring-Sports

MHSAA Moves Football to the Spring.

Written Friday August 14th at 5:00 PM
Updated Saturday August 15th at 1:30 PM

The MHSAA has made their decision.

The MHSAA Representative Council according to a press release announced that Football will be moved from Fall to Spring because of the sport's higher risk of spread of the coronavirus.

The league also decided to keep volleyball and boys soccer in the fall. They are expected to get additional guidance on Wednesday surrounding those two sports.

The decision affects 34,000 players along with their coaches and families.

Football was deemed a high risk sport because of their physical contact with other players. The decision was made based on consultation with state health officials and after surveying the schools progress it was made to move it to spring.

"No one is willing to take the risk of COVID being passed on because of a high risk sport. Decisions have to be made on our other sports as well but none of those carry the same close, consistent, and face to face contact as football" said MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl in a press release.

"At the end of the day, we did everything we could to find a path forward for football this fall but while continuing to connect with the Governor's office, state health department officials, our member schools personnel, and the council, there's just too much uncertainty and too many unknowns to play football this fall" Uyl concluded.

"As your coach preaches E+R O. Know that we all share in the disappointment that you have but we will look forward to the spring. We are so proud of how you have performed in the last six weeks. You have done all we have asked you to do. We will all try and see the big picture, do our part, support one another, and handle this together. The Dragons Football teams will have their day. Stay strong" said Lake Orion Athletic Director Chris Bell on Twitter to his football program.

"I respect the MHSAA for what they decided. It took a lot of guts. They had the kids best interest in their mind but also the grandparents that comes to games and coaches too. We almost lost a guy like Tony (Adams coach Tony Patritto) so if you look at the picture it's a good thing" said Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson to the Detroit News.

There could be several big names that might not play spring football in Garrett Dellinger (Clarkston), Rocco Splinder (Clarkston), Blake Kosin (Clarkston), and Donovan Edwards (West Bloomfield) as they are expected to graduate and enroll early.

The MHSAA announced on July 17th that the seasons would go on as normal but they did say that they could move volleyball, football, and boys soccer to the spring if things were deemed unsafe but they decided to go with sending football to the spring.

Volleyball and swimming and diving are indoor sports and most of Michigan is in Phase Four under Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Safe Start plan. A decision there is expected next week when those teams are allowed to be back indoors.

Uyl noted that with football moving to the spring, the league will work to limit the overlap between the traditional spring sports and football. Details for the spring football season will be announced in a couple of months. "While this is tremendously disappointing we will do everything possible to provide the best possible experience in the spring while adding football into the calendar" Uyl concluded.

Thoughts.

I'm having a hard time figuring out of this, knowing the pain especially the football players are going through to see their seasons moved to the spring. I know some of them might not play in the spring. I hope that the MHSAA and other athletic departments doesn't force people (students and coaches) to choose between their respective spring sport and football. It wouldn't be right.

I get there are people who could lay blame on Whitmer and medical experts but Whitmer gave Uyl the authority to decide the fate of fall sports however there were conversations between her office and Uyl. Some people could also blame the league that they should have made the decision sooner.

It will be interesting to see what happens and how things play out.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

MHSAA Press Release
https://www.mhsaa.com/News/Press-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9189/MHSAA-Announces-Football-to-Move-to-Spring-Season-for-2020-21

Ferndale Schools Postpone Fall Sports.

Written Thursday August 13th at 12:00 PM
Updated Friday August 14th at 4:05 PM

The first school in the OAA will not hold sports in the fall.

Ferndale Schools announced on Wednesday according to MLive’s Jared Purcell that they were going to postpone the fall sports season because of concerns of the health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the postponement of our fall sports. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we do not feel that it would be appropriate to continue with sports in the fall semester. Our hope is that the MHSAA will adjust the schedule of all activities and allow our student athletes to compete in traditionally fall sports this spring. We will share further details when we have them” the statement from Ferndale Schools said in a statement.

There are two high schools that are impacted in Ferndale and Ferndale University.

"The Ferndale athletic department made the recommendation to postpone fall sports to the school board and superintendent to ensure the health and safety of the students, family, and coaches in our community" said athletic director Shaun Butler. 

The three biggest sports that is impacted by decision is football, volleyball, and boys soccer.

"As a former athlete, coach, and a parent of a high school athlete, after studying the research and observing the issues facing collegiate and professional sports I felt we could not conduct fall sports in a way that would provide the safety our student athletes deserve. We did not make this decision lightly. It is heartbreaking that our students could miss another season but the current and long term health and safety has to be paramount" Butler concluded

The only school district that made the decision to postpone fall sports on their own was Lansing when their School District decided to postpone their fall sports season last week. 

The decision by the Lansing School District was met by protests.

Okemos postponed football, volleyball, girls swimming and diving, and boys soccer on Thursday night while East Lansing and Lansing Holt postponed their seasons on Friday.

On Wednesday, MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl was interviewed on the Hugh Show that moving fall sports into March, April, and May is still an option being discussed and pushing back traditional spring sports to May, June, and July. So far the MHSAA is still leaning on keeping everything the same for now.

Ferndale Schools hope the MHSAA will decide to move the traditional fall sports season across the State to mid spring.

For now the rest of the OAA are following the MHSAA guidelines. According to State Champs Matt Mowery, Southfield Schools were mentioning that possibility of cancelling fall sports in an article last week.

Michigan remains in Phase Four of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Return to School plan but the majority of the OAA Schools are planning to start the school year online.

We shall see what happens.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Thoughts

I think Ferndale Schools made this decision on the side of caution but I worry about the kids mental health and mental mindset knowing that they won't have a fall season. This decision impacts football, volleyball, and boys soccer. Ferndale is supposed to be very good in these three sports in 2020 now they won't be able to compete this fall thanks to this decision.

I talked to West Bloomfield Football Coach Ron Bellamy about the mental aspect of not having fall sports on my podcast last week. I will post the podcast on the blog.

It also seems that Ferndale Schools wants the MHSAA to move fall sports to the spring which is an option.

I read Butler's comments and like I said the mental aspect is the one that worries me the most.

We'll know a lot more next week when the MHSAA makes their decision regarding the rest of fall sports.

Here is the article from Purcell surrounding the story.

https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2020/08/ferndale-schools-postpone-fall-sports-amid-coronavirus-pandemic.html

My Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-08-10-2020f

Will We Have A Fall Season???

Written Saturday August 8th at 12:15 PM

Will we see sports this fall???

There have been a ton of conflicting reports lately and also school districts have cancelled athletics and other extra circular activities for the fall season.

In College Football, the Mid-American Conference cancelled their season and the Big Ten could be on the verge of cancelling theirs in wake of this coronavirus outbreak.

Now it has trickled down to the high school game as well.

The Lansing School district decided that for the health and safety of everyone that they will call off athletics and extra circular activities according to MLive’s Jared Purcell.

In another article according to Matt Mowery of State Champs, he said that Southfield was considering the same thing although no decision had been made.

If schools make the decision about their districts not having fall sports it could not only have major consequences for the health and wellbeing of student athletes but for other conferences as well.

Most if not all schools should start their fall semester online in my opinion.

If Southfield were to cancel their fall sports schedule it would hurt the OAA. It could create a ripple effect and could possibly force a breakup of the league.

The coronavirus outbreak could force major mega conferences to break up in favor of smaller conferences based on travel.

The MHSAA made a decision in July to keep the sports structure as is and start the season on time but added four contingency plans to the mix if coronavirus cases go up in Michigan.

Last week the league went with a phases approach with the low risk sports in boys tennis, girls golf, girls swimming and diving, and cross country starting up on Wednesday while high/moderate risk sports like football, volleyball, and boys soccer will start their practices this week as well but the MHSAA said a decision will not be made on those sports until August 20^th.

Most of Michigan remain in Phase Four under Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s economic return plan but the Upper Peninsula and most of northwest and part of northeast Lower Michigan are in Phase Five.

In Phase Four of Whitmer’s plan indoor gyms are not allowed which greatly impacts volleyball and girls swimming and diving. Those sports are expected to practice outdoors.

It will be interesting in the next two weeks will be critical to see what happens in regards to fall sports but school districts and especially school boards have already went ahead with their plans.