In troubling times, it’s a waiting game for high school football coaches, players and fans

Laguna Hills High school football stadium is the home of the Hawks. (Photo courtesy Laguna Hills football)

High school football is scheduled to start in Orange County on Friday, Aug. 21.

But because of the coronavirus crisis, it’s not clear yet whether the games will go on scheduled or be moved to a later date. No one has been able to say for sure that the football season will be played.

All the uncertainty leaves high school coaches, who won’t have spring league programs available, looking to alternative means to prepare their players. Fans are undoubtedly wondering too if they will be able to attend the games if they are played in light of comments earlier this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom indicating that he didn’t expect mass gatherings of any kind to be held in the state for a while.

CIF officials said on April 9 they are monitoring the situation and emphasized they have more flexibility with the football schedule since football is the first sport of the fall semester. Spring sports and playoffs had to be cancelled because they were held at the end of the school year and school districts ended on-campus schooling, making it impossible to extend the seasons into the summer. CIF officials said they are committed to having football playoffs.

So, the wait continues for coaches, players and fans, who may or not be able to attend once and if football begins.

“We are just like everyone else I assume,” said Laguna Hills football coach Mike Maceranka. “We have been meeting on zoom. We have two plans, one if we do have summer practice before August and one if we don’t start until August or later.”

Laguna Hills is scheduled to open the season Friday, Aug. 21 at home against Heritage Christian. Maceranka is making sure his players are ready.

“I have provided our team with workout programs that do not use weights since the vast majority of our kids do not have access to weights,” he said. “I do not foresee us beginning before August, but I am hopeful we will start in July. Three weeks before our first game is sufficient, but ideally, four would be preferred before the first game is plenty of time to prepare for the season. Since we are all in the same situation we would all have competitive equity. We will prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

“All Division III NCAA teams do not have spring or summer programs, the players arrive in August and prepare for the season. We will be fine, the key is making sure we are engaged with our players and they are keeping in decent shape.  We are all waiting for guidance on how the season will begin and we will accept any decision which is made to assure the safety of our community and we have a season, with or without fans in the stands.

“I have heard so many different scenarios it’s just not worth worrying about, we will prepare to be ready in August.”

Segerstrom High football coach Joseph Tagaloa is also trying to prepare his squad during an uncertain time and he isn’t sure what the future holds. Tagaloa does believe there will be a football season. The Jaguars are scheduled to open at home against Dominguez on Friday, Aug. 21.

“It is a huge waiting game to see when we will get the green light,” Tagaloa said. “I spoke with our AD about possibilities for the upcoming season. Since we are officially shut down as far as in class instruction for the rest of the school year, our spring practice is going to be virtual.

“We will be meeting by position coaches and try to teach concepts and fundamentals both offensively and defensively to our guys. I will also be putting in special teams schemes via online teaching. Obviously, the physical reps are going to be lacking, but if we know what our responsibilities are, then that is a start.

“We graduate a large senior group, so we have to make sure the younger guys coming up understand what it is that we try to do on the football field. Our lower levels run the shell of what we do on varsity, so we are going to have to build on that foundation. The hardest thing that to install, that we do is tempo.

“Without the physical reps, it is going to be difficult to be where we should be come season.  With that being said, I don’t know how long it is going to take to be in playing condition. A lot of those types of questions will be answered by how hard our guys are going now on their own. If they are waiting for us to get back to start getting ready, then it’s going to be tough. We will have to get our days in to get acclimated to working out with our gear and so forth, but I am confident our guys will be ready for that first whistle.”

Tagaloa has also heard the comments about the possibility of games being held without fans.

“The large gatherings is an issue for so many schools, but I am sure the players are more than willing to play without a crowd,” he said. “At the end of the day, our players want to compete. I am sure someone will be able to stream our games for our fans. I don’t know what to expect in reality.

“I mean a lot of what the sports world in high school does is based on what the school district decides. For example, if one district shuts down their campus all summer, how will those schools get their practice in? And if that is the case then there is an unfair advantage for those districts that can get back on the field. I don’t doubt that the season will be played, but not real sure what the timeline will look like.

“Because we are a fall sport and haven’t started yet, CIF has options  that they can implement whether that is push start date back or not. We will see. God willing we will be back soon and our players will get back to what they love to do, compete on the football field.”

Woodbridge Athletic Director Rick Gibson, who retired as the Warriors head football coach after last season, said he doesn’t know what will happen but said school officials are preparing for different scenarios. Woodbridge, under first year coach Aaron Craver, is scheduled to open the season on Friday, Aug. 21 at Newport Harbor.

“If we don’t have summer camps, are athletes ready to participate right on Aug. 1? Who is to say you can do that,” Gibson said. “So there are some things that I know CIF is going to have to look at.

“I did get a message from CIF that they would (if necessary) adjust the start of fall sports, just dependent on when schools are open. They won’t probably lose the season, but you got to figure out how long do you need to prepare for a football season. If they’re not weight training or running and learning techniques, how long are you going to give them to learn that stuff?

“Like the government officials are talking about now, it’s not like we can just flip a switch and go back to the way you were, because you’re not going to, you can’t.”

Summer camps usually run four to six weeks, Gibson said. It’s up in the air whether those will be held.

“Even a week is better than nothing,” he said. “That’s going to be a school district, state of California and nation of the United States (decision). That’s going to be bigger than us trying to figure it out. It will be interesting.”

Gibson pointed out that all athletes need to have physicals, which may be difficult to accomplish because of all the people being treated with the coronavirus.

Gibson is hopeful there will be football, even if the start has to be delayed until September or even October.

“I don’t have a guess,” he said. “I think we have to fast forward to the middle of May to hear what it is the government officials are telling us and then in turn, what’s happening with the school districts,” Gibson said.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com

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CIF officials discussing possible scenarios for football and other fall sports