Since the Nov. 17 decision of the IHSA and Gov. Pritzker put winter sports on hold, winter sports coaches shared their expectations and adjustments on the possible changes for next year’s winter sports plans pending  the board and governor’s approval.

According to the coaches, the primary thing to do is to wait for any announcement from the board, which serves as the go signal on when they could start their games for their respective winter sports teams.

Boys basketball coach Brian Centella emphasizes that everyone connected with winter sports is continuously evaluating the probability of winter sports’ continuation. “The state and the school districts are in a constant state of evaluation. They’re evaluating the numbers of COVID in the communities. New plans will be put in place as far as winter sports and sports in general,” said Centella.

Boys bowling coach Bryan Dovichi expresses his thoughts about the decision made by the board on the uncertainty of winter sports.“It’s discouraging. Everyone’s on a different spectrum based on COVID on how much they want to be secure. We just have to abide by the rules. These decisions are out of our hands,” said Dovichi.

Likewise, girls bowling coach Michael Blasevich points out that as of now, there’s nothing else that needs to be done but staying positive is a key to make the waiting faster. “Right now, we just stay positive, and hopefully we can get the season started,” said Blasevich.

Also, girls basketball coach Steve Ikenn suggests the same thing of being in the waiting game for further announcements. “Right now, we’re just in a holding pattern. We have no idea when they’re talking about starting. We’re hoping to get some more clarification from the IHSA when they meet on December 14,” said Ikenn.

Collectively, boys varsity bowler Cameron Porembski shares his routine of keeping track of his condition in bowling. “I would just throw myself at it, and keep trying my best until something works. I had this same sort of attitude when I joined bowling for the first time, and it worked out pretty well. It started out a bit rough, but now, I have a schedule that I’m using, and it’s keeping me on task,” said Porembski.

Due to the lack of access to outdoor workout places and the school premises where student-athletes can practice and train, the coaches suggest that watching videos through surfing the internet could be one of the best ways to make sure the atheletes’ mentality about their specific games are also in good condition–not only their physical body. 

“As a coach, I really kind of ask myself what ways can I get better and what areas do I need to improve on. Watching a film, studying the game–we’re ready whenever we get that opportunity,” said Centella.

“One thing that would be great for students just to continue working on is if they are to watch YouTube videos, based on like professional bowlers. You can get a lot of good tips and strategies just by watching bowling, learning from online tutorials,” said Dovichi.

Because of the unavailability of the gyms and courts on the school premises, boys varsity basketball player Zoel Martinez expresses his thoughts about the possible activities that he can still do despite the season being on hold. Martinez said he practices“shooting hoops when I get a chance and body weight workouts.” 

All coaches agree to the same thought about keeping the athletes in touch and communicating with them is the best way to make sure that they’re mentally and physically stable and always ready if any announcements and adjustments are made. 

“A key thing is having check-ins with them, and I communicate with them through reminders and everything just kind of makes sure they stay in good spirits and keep a positive attitude,” said Blasevich.

“We check in on them with Zoom once a week to see how everyone’s doing and give them updates,” said Ikenn. 

Centella shares his expectation about the possible continuation of basketball season in 2021. “Right now basketball is categorized as a higher risk sport; it means we’ll probably be on pause for a little longer,” said Centella. 

On the other hand, both coaches of the bowling teams are optimistic about the reopening of the winter sports. Dovichi and Blasevich suggest that bowling would be back sooner than any other sports because of its low-risk rate. “Bowling is low risk, so we would be the first ones to reopen if they’d be reopened. Right now, we’re just waiting,” said Dovichi. “If once we get the green light. I know bowling would be one of the first ones to do that because we’re concerned at low risk,” Blasevich added.

“We’ll do whatever needs to be done on our own, but we don’t know what needs to be done,” said Ikenn.