PA Postpones, Doesn't Cancel
 

As of Monday, 3/30, PIAA, which governs PA's scholastic sports, announced that it is continuing to postpone championships in basketball and swimming, rather than cancel them. It has likewise made no decision yet on canceling spring sports.

For basketball in most classes, schools would still have three games to play in a fairly brief time frame. I can't help but imagine how ragged the basketball would be, with little time to practice and get in playing shape. But then, I'm a half-empty-glass kinda guy.

The Keystone State ...
 

Sounds overly optimistic, but good for them.

Good luck trying to convince the baseball coach to allow his home run hitting All State first baseman to spend several days in the gym because he's also the basketball team's tallest player, top rebounder, and top scorer. Same thing with the softball team's All State starting pitcher who is also the basketball team's point guard and leading scorer.

Coaching in my home town's school system and having three children that played high school sports, I can definitely state that coaches of various teams in a high school can be very territorial.

The lacrosse coach and the basketball coach fought over my daughter who wanted to play high school lacrosse, but was strongly "encouraged" by her high school basketball coach to play AAU basketball (both were spring sports). In my daughter's presence, harsh words were exchanged, and the issue made its way from the athletic director's office all the way up to the school principal's office.

The most famous fight at the high school was between a legendary football coach and an award winning marching band director over practice time on the football field. Interestingly, the football field is now named after said football coach.

And yes, marching band is a big deal, as is football, at my hometown high school. I always see the marching band kids in church wearing their marching band letterman jackets. Yes, they get a "varsity" letter for marching band.

Social Distancing ...
 

Towns and cities in Connecticut are taking down outdoor basketball rims, and tennis court nets, to discourage people from getting together.

Meanwhile, liquor stores are considered essential and are open for business.

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Joking aside I can fully understand why a liquor store is considered an essential business, not just because parents putting up with their kids never leaving the house could drive them to wanting a drink or that responsible drinking has to be done an home as bars are not open to sell alcohol.

If some one is addicted to alcohol to deprive them of it would require them to detox and with out medical supervision that would possibly require one of the hospital beds that need be be saved for those who need them right now, I'm not judging if being an alcoholic is something that should be protected or encouraged but I don't think it is reason to give someone a potential death sentence by either depriving them of a hospital bed or potentially exposing them to COVID-19 or due to giving them a bed depriving someone else a bed that will be in short supply too soon.

Bored Out Of Our Gourd ...
 

My daughter, a nurse, who's on the front line taking nose and throat swabs at a drive-through corona virus testing facility, said the same exact thing.

Connecticut is basically a "shelter in place" state, by either mandates by executive orders from our state governor, or by local city and town ordinances.

Everybody in the state is talking about why some businesses are deemed essential and others aren't, not to seriously question these mandates and ordinances, but because we're bored and need something to talk about.

Dog grooming is considered essential, but barber shops aren't. Often discussed are the essential businesses of guns stores, fish and tackle shops, liquor stores, garden centers, dry cleaners, doormen, landscaping services, pool maintenance, and billboard leasing.

The guy who fertilized my lawn yesterday wondered why he was considered essential. Of course he works alone all day and talked to me as we were ten feet apart.

That proverbial ten foot pole really comes in handy these days.

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Why did this go beyond you asking your daughter which she wanted to do and telling the coaches to respect her decision and back off?

Exactly What Did I, Her Dad, Do Wrong ???
 

I had already bought two lacrosse sticks for her to practice with me in the backyard, both of us were new to the game.

With absolutely no warning, all ("harsh words") that occurred happened during only one day at school. I didn't find out about it until that night at home. The principal and athletic director had both chastised the basketball coach for putting undue pressure ("You have a chance to start varsity next year as a sophomore.") on a student-athlete to play an off-season non-school sport.

That night she (100% her decision) decided on AAU spring basketball and told both coaches the next day at school. Meanwhile, her friends all had fun playing lacrosse, a new sport for almost all of them (as the BillyMac family paid the AAU fee and trudged all over the East coast playing basketball in noisy gyms while laying out big bucks for hotels).

I watched my niece play high school lacrosse. I'm not a fan. Girls aren't allowed to hit each other with sticks (this was twenty years ago, lacrosse was a new Connecticut high school sport, for both boys and girls, at the time) like the boys are. Boys lacrosse is more exciting to watch.

I was definitely on the fence regarding this issue, and left it up to my daughter.

Really didn't like her caught between two feuding coaches. Lacrosse coach was having number problems attracting girls (especially good athletes, the best athletes played softball, one of the top softball programs in the state) to the new sport; basketball coach wanted my daughter, once she decided not to continue to play softball, to get more basketball experience before the next season.

Athletic director and principal did the right thing, "Back off".

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