Idaho’s prep athletes held out hope for a season. But the virus had other plans.
The long-held fears became a reality Friday as Idaho canceled its high school spring sports for the rest of the year.
The state governing body ended the season and canceled all state tournaments Friday, taking the final step after putting all sports on hold March 16 as the coronavirus made its first appearance in Idaho.
The clock started ticking immediately against Idaho’s prep athletes. The Idaho High School Activities Association waited as long as it could, hoping for the global pandemic to recede. But the virus had other plans.
Gov. Brad Little extended Idaho’s stay-at-home order Wednesday until April 30, meaning no school could open its doors until May 1, at the earliest. The State Board of Education followed Thursday with stringent requirements for any school considering reopening, effectively sealing the fate of athletes across the state.
“We realize that it’s a disappointing time,” said Ty Jones, the executive director of the IHSAA. “We’re disappointed. We’re extremely disappointed. There’s nothing more we wanted than to have culminating events for all our kids.
“… We really feel for them. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few tears shed today in our board meeting.”
‘HEARTBREAKING’ TO CANCEL SPRING SPORTS
The cancellation was expected as 26 other states have nixed their spring sports season, including neighboring Washington, Oregon and Utah. But that didn’t make it any more comforting.
Vallivue senior Lan Larison said he looked forward to finishing his baseball career alongside teammates he’s had since T-ball.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking not being able to walk out on senior night or play for a chance at state,” Larison said.
Bishop Kelly track coach Jeff Carpenter called Friday the toughest day of his coaching career. He said he especially felt for his 30 seniors, who will never get to wear a Bishop Kelly uniform again.
“They are sacrificing for the greater good,” Carpenter said. “I hope they know that. I hope they know that we appreciate what they are doing as high school seniors.
“… It’s hard for me to remain positive. The only thing keeping me going really was the hope that spring sports would continue. Since that has been shattered, it’s been a really rough morning.”
Eagle senior Haylee Bryant turned down a scholarship offer from Southern Oregon’s softball program, deciding instead to stay close to home and attend Boise State. She wanted to make the most out of her last year on the diamond, but the coronavirus robbed her of that opportunity.
“I wanted to have fun,” Bryant said. “I wanted my senior year to be one of my best years of high school. That didn’t get to happen.”
ALTERNATIVES FOR STATE DIDN’T WORK
Jones said the IHSAA tried to find another way to finish the season. It considered hosting just district tournaments, moving state tournaments outside of the hard-hit Treasure Valley and even staging virtual state tournaments for cheer, dance and speech.
But every idea ran into hurdles. School closures presented the largest challenge as it limited the venues that could host state-level events. And the Boise School District and Blaine County School District ended their teams’ seasons when they closed for the year.
“The soft closure was a real big item for us to consider,” Jones said. “It made a lot of the possibilities that we were thinking about not possible.”
The IHSAA initially resisted moving its state tournaments past their scheduled dates of May 11-16. As the virus spread, it softened and considered rescheduling. But the mounting challenges of finding new venues, wondering if schools would come and securing the safety and health of athletes and fans proved too much to overcome.
“We heard from a couple parents that we’re willing to go into July and August,” Jones said. “But the vast, vast majority of our schools were not interested in that.”
WILL SPORTS RESUME IN THE FALL?
Jones said the IHSAA has spent the past month trying to play any spring sports it could. But with the decision to end the season, it will turn its attention to the fall.
Jones said he’s heard all the speculation about what the college football or NFL season could look like without a vaccine, a vaccine that isn’t expected anytime soon. High school sports aren’t immune from that speculation.
“That goes hand in hand with what if we can’t go back to school?” Jones said. “Will virtual learning continue through summer school and the start of the school year? Those are things we just don’t know.
“We’ll focus a lot on what we do know and control what we can control.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 12:13 PM.
