August 26, 2020 at 11:29 a.m.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Fall sports afforded opportunity with SDR board decision
Shoutouts & Callouts
At last, after 5 1/2 months away, varsity sports returned to Rhinelander High School as the Hodag girls' tennis team defeated Marshfield Columbus 6-1 in a Great Northern Conference dual. Action the same day by the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education gave players, coaches and parents some reassurance that Monday night's contest will not be the only one they see this fall.
The board voted 7-1 on Monday night to move forward with fall sports as planned, under the direction of district administration with the consultation of local health officials. Ann Munninghoff-Eshelman cast the lone dissenting vote while Mike Roberts abstained due to his role as an assistant RHS football coach.
Moving forward, athletics will combine the phased approach the district has used since facilities reopened in July for training with the latest overall and sport-specific guidance from the WIAA.
It means higher-risk sports, including football, boys' soccer and volleyball, will be able to start their practices as scheduled Sept. 7, with games beginning later next month.
"I'm extremely excited for the kids," RHS boys' soccer coach Nathan Bates said following Monday's meeting. "I know they've been anxious. We've had a great turnout all summer and the kids have been putting in a lot of work. It will be nice to see some normalcy back into the activities. It makes me extremely happy for all the kids involved, for all the sports."
"This is one of those big steps for our community, to be able to have sports back," added Hodag football coach Aaron Kraemer. "To be able to show that we can do so safely and continue to allow our athletes to have the experiences that they need. That's what's most important to me."
Monday night's vote by the school board does not guarantee that the Bell Game between Rhinelander and Antigo will take place Sept. 25 to kick off the prep football season, but it does mean there is one less obstacle standing in the way.
It's a great opportunity for football teams - and the majority of the consternation at Monday night's meeting centered around how football can be played in as safe of a manner as possible in the midst of the pandemic - but with great opportunity comes great responsibility.
"We all have to have some sort of responsibility toward each other," Kraemer said. "Not only do we not have to have responsibility toward each other, but we have to have responsibility toward the other teams in our conference too."
There is a reason football has been classified by both the WIAA and the NFHS as a high-risk sport. The amount of contact that takes place between players during actual game play is extremely high. Almost everything about the sport, from the quarterback-center exchange, to handoffs, to blocking and tackling, even bump-and-run coverage, involves a high degree of contact.
"The inherent nature of the sport just does not comply with social distancing and the other protocols we try to put in place,"
Dr. Kent Jason Lowry, orthopedic surgeon at Ascension and member of the districts pandemic team told the board Monday night. "When you go to play the sport and participate in the sport, the way it's designed, you're going to violate every rule and protocol that we put in place, multiple times."
In post-meeting remarks to the River News, Kraemer countered by saying that updated techniques regarding blocking and tackling and the proliferation of spread offenses have mitigated some of the close contact as opposed to the three yards and a cloud of dust era of the sport. He also said, how Rhinelander will construct its practices will go along way toward reduce the potential spread of the virus.
"The nature of the game is a lot different than it was maybe 10 years ago," he said. "We teach kids to tackle with their heads out. Other than in the trenches and blocking, the game is rarely played (in massive piles)."
The amount of full-contact work that can be done during practice is already limited by the WIAA, beginning with a maximum 90 minutes of contact in the second week of practice and no more than 60 minutes a week thereafter. Kraemer said his team will likely fall well below that minimum, focusing more on classroom work during practice. There will also be more work at individual positions given that the two-way nature of the sport at the high school level naturally works to segregate the team into smaller pods. Offensive linemen are typically also defensive linemen. Running backs and tight ends are typically linebackers. Quarterbacks and receivers typically play in the defensive secondary.
"We've had some really good discussions about how to mitigate and lower the risk in the practice setting," Lowry said. "I've had some really good discussions with coach Kraemer. I like where his head's at in this in trying to limit the exposure risk and implement strategies to decrease that risk. I feel really good about that."
Superintendent Eric Burke warned that, even if the RHS football team does everything right, there's no guarantee every game on the schedule will be played. There will need to be reliance on the remainder of the football programs in the GNC to also act responsibly and do what they can to mitigate the risks involved. That's a reality Kraemer takes to heart.
"This is me saying to the coaches in our conference - please step up to the plate and make sure that your kids are safe. Make sure you understand that if a kid is sick they have to sit. They should be out and we have to take care of our teammates and the rest of our conference just to make sure we can do this," he said. "That's my plea, make sure everyone's safe and let's do the best we possibly can with the opportunity that we have."
Opportunity is not a guarantee. Schools in several Wisconsin counties have succumbed to that reality recently. In Eau Claire, Dodge and Fond du Lac counties, the local health departments have issued restrictive guidance that effectively make playing contact sports impossible this fall, forcing districts to pursue the alternate fall sports season beginning in February 2021. Given that the Oneida County Health Department has a seat at the table when establishing the district's athletic plans, those who wish to see sports return hope that will not be the case here. But if the virus - and 2020 in general - have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
Still, where the local sports landscape sits at this moment is better than what RHS student-athletes have experienced over the last 5 1/2 months. Why they feel it is imperative to return to play was made clear by the two Hodag seniors who spoke during the public comment portion of Monday night's meeting.
"We know there will be limits and changes to how things will be working, but they have been in place since training for fall sports started over the summer," Kahlie Arneson said in her remarks. "We are comfortable and accept the fact that these will be in place for the foreseeable future. All we ask is for the chance to go back to whatever normal we can come up with for our beloved fall sports, and the chance to participate in something we love."
Arneson's remarks were preceded by those of RHS senior quarterback Quinn Lamers, who made an impassioned plea about why the football team should play this fall.
"The world we live in may be confusing and frightening sometimes, but we most do the best we can to stop living in fear and get back to as normal of a life as possible," he said. "We don't know when everything will be completely back to normal, which is why we must try to bring a sense of normalcy back for our community. I know that each and every one of you has experiences that you cherish from your high school years, and all we ask is for the same opportunity."
For now, this fall's crop of Hodag student-athletes will have that chance.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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