Perhaps the biggest thing missing from American life in 2020 is certainty.
In normal times, we knew what to expect — when to go to work, when our kids would be in school, when we’d get our next paycheck. But as the COVID-19 pandemic has swallowed the country whole, much of what we once took for granted has been taken away. For how long, we don’t know.
Since the wave of closures and cancellations started to hit during the second week of March, we’ve seen entire sports seasons wiped out at the high school and collegiate levels. We’ve watched professional leagues bandy about plans for possible starts or restarts. With infection and death numbers still at peak levels across much of the country, it’s nearly impossible to predict what the short-term future looks like.
As that cloud of uncertainty lingers, and with the memory of a lost spring season still fresh, many have started to ask the next burning question — how worried should we be that fall sports won’t happen this year, either?
It’s a question that nobody feels confident giving a definitive answer to with the start of the 2020-21 school year still almost three months away. But Center Grove football coach Eric Moore, whose team is widely expected to be the state’s top-ranked team in the preseason, has been hearing the concerns from his players for weeks now.
"Oh, they’re terrified," Moore said earlier this spring. "But I just keep telling them that we’re going to, and — hell, I don’t know. I would have to think we will. I don’t know."
The biggest unknown, obviously, is what the state will do when it’s time for school to start again. All school buildings statewide are closed until at least June 30, with students just now finishing up the current school year after several weeks of remote learning.
If school buildings are still closed in August, it stands to reason that sports won’t be resuming at that time, either. But while that possibility will certainly be lingering for a while, most are trying to tune it out for now and see the glass half full.
"I’m just trying to be optimistic about the actual season," said Izzy Reed, who will be a senior volleyball player at Greenwood Christian in the fall. "Maybe June and July are going to look a lot better, and maybe things are going to start turning around here pretty soon. I’m just trying to stay positive and not get worked up yet about anything that’s not finalized."
"I think there’s a little bit of concern," Franklin athletic director Bill Doty added. "When we go back to school, what’s it going to look like? But do I think we’re going to have a fall sports season? Yes. I’m not concerned about that at this point; I think we will. Will it look different? Yeah, probably. I think we’d be naive if we didn’t think it would look different in some way, whether it’s limited spectators or something like that."
Even if fans aren’t allowed to come to games, certain sports are obviously more equipped for social distancing than others. Golf tournaments are already being played locally, and sports such as tennis and cross country would require only minimal modifications to move forward.
But what happens with football — not only in regard to the on-the-field contact, but the question of how social distancing can be implemented with roughly 100 players confined in a locker room in some cases? How will players be transported to away games?
"I’m a big believer that you’ve got to face reality," Indian Creek football coach Steve Spinks said. "It’s something that you’ve got to think about, but the preparation is such that you have to prepare for a full season anyway. Is it in your mind? Yeah. Does it scare me? Yeah, a little bit. We’re still going to move forward in hopes that we have the full season, but it’s definitely something that I’m thinking about."
One of the many scenarios making its way through the rumor mill in recent weeks is the idea that the start of the school year, and with it the athletic calendar, being pushed back.
Having school start closer to Labor Day, and running on a timeline more similar to what many eastern states use, is one possibility that many have discussed. That would likely mean a shorter regular season for fall teams, but it would at least allow for something.
That timeline, though, depends largely on what the situation looks like for Indiana toward the end of the summer.
"Their fear is, if they get one person in that school that tests positive, then they’ve got to empty the school, they’ve got to have a 14-day quarantine," Moore said. "So I understand what they’re doing; they’re making sure that everybody is pretty much through the zone when they start.
"I think the smart thing to do is start in September and do what (some other states) do. Move basketball back. Cut two of their games; big deal. They play 25. Don’t start them until middle of December. … Maybe they’ll give us 10 (practice) days before school starts like in the old days, and that’d be super. Because with an experienced team and 10 days, I can rock and roll."
While many will run the various outcomes and contingency plans through their minds until the time comes, others are choosing not to sweat what’s not within their control.
"We’ve been preaching that in our program for three years," Franklin football coach Chris Coll said. "We’re not going to worry about things we don’t have control over — how many players we have, how big we are, officiating, weather, we don’t control those things.
"This is like the extreme example of that, and mentally … we’re going to operate under the conditions that we’re in and do the best we can. When we get back on the field, we’ll have a plan for that."
For now, it’s anybody’s guess as to when that might be.
Franklin girls cross country coach Ray Lane, who is expected to have one of the state’s top teams this fall, says that he won’t be surprised if the start of the season is delayed, but he’s trying to remain optimistic that there will be some sort of competition in 2020.
"I’m sure, just from how the IHSAA reacted this past spring, I feel like they’re going to do everything they can to get us some sort of season in," he said.
"Kind of like everybody else right now, you’re just kind of crossing your fingers and hoping that the plan that the governor rolled out works, and everything keeps progressing and we don’t have any setbacks."
