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 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
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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