With sports given the green light, relief is lead emotion for area programs

When reached for comment about the IHSA’s plan to restore high school athletic programs ability to play games, you could almost feel Bolingbrook boys basketball coach Rob Brost smiling through the phone.

“We’re just happy to have the chance,” Brost said. “Whatever we have to go through to get there we’ll do it. This is better than the alternative.”

Boys and girls basketball teams already are allowed to practice. Being designated as a higher-risk sport requires that programs be at the Phase 4 level to be able to participate in games. The majority of Herald-News area programs still are in Tier 1 mitigations as a part of Region 7, meaning they still have to reach Phase 4 to play games against one another. Some local schools are a part of Region 6, which means as soon as they have seven days of practices, they are cleared to begin playing games immediately.

“We’re not even worried about the schedule and who we might play,” Brost said. “They could tell me we are playing the Lakers tomorrow, and I’d be like when and where?”

There will be no postseason for basketball this year, after not being allowed to complete the postseason in full last year. But the opportunity for something over nothing allowed for all involved to keep things in perspective.

Football got approval for a six-game regular season. Like basketball, there will be no postseason. Also like basketball, as a higher-risk sport, participating schools must reach a Phase 4 to play games.

And while there’s disappointment about not being able to compete for the championship trophy, the satisfaction of getting athletes at least some opportunity, when that chance looked much bleaker only a few weeks ago, is enough to offset some if not most of that feeling.

“I’m just glad that our seniors are going to get the chance to get some closure on their high school careers,” Plainfield North football coach Anthony Imbordino said. “We all knew that was something that we might not get. Just giving those guys the opportunity to compete in whatever form we are given is something we aren’t going to take for granted.”

The truncated schedule with overlapping seasons also forces several sports to share athletes, and this might be a particularly daunting challenge for smaller schools. All schools might feel a bit of a pinch with athletes that participate in multiple sports, but those that have to juggle here and there seem more than willing to do what they can to make things work.

“It might get tricky at times,” Imbordino said. “But I feel like all of us realize that we’re going to have to be flexible to make this work for everyone.”

Volleyball season will be played from early March to mid April, and while Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe is ready to get the opportunity to compete she admitted to still being a bit disappointed, that like in several other sports, there will not be a postseason for volleyball.

“Disappointing would be the word that I would use,” Scheibe said. “I thought all along that they didn’t try to get enough sports that they could have in the fall and now they are just scrambling to say that kids can have something to participate in. They are missing the point of the reasons that kids play, which is a state championship and that opportunity to experience that.

“It’s going to be challenging. There’s more people competing for gym time, and we’ve got some kids that are still playing club. I haven’t looked too far ahead, but are we going to be competing with club for kids? We’re getting the chance to play, I just wish we could offer more to the girls.”