By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The University Interscholastic League released an updated fall sports calendar and guidelines for member schools to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic Tuesday.
The decision to start Sub-5A programs Aug. 3 was not well received by coaches of small schools across the state, nor in the Rio Grande Valley.
The health orders issued by Cameron County judge Eddie Trevino Jr. specifically designated a return to in-person schooling no earlier than Sept. 8. Willacy County judge Aurelio Guerra signed a shelter-in-place order July 7, which is also being cited by Lyford, Raymondville and San Perlita in their approaches to returning to on-campus instruction and athletics.
“We’re not going to start face-to-face instruction until Sept. 14,” Rio Hondo athletic director Rocky James said. “We’ll see if they move that start date for everybody. I thought they did a good job of moving the (start date for the Class 5A and 6A schools) to Sept. 8, but ours being left on Aug. 3 was a horrible decision by the UIL, just horrible. They should have put everybody the same on Sept. 8, but they didn’t. … I don’t like it, I don’t think it’s fair to us, knowing that the (Cameron County judge) said we couldn’t start until Sept. 8 and (UIL) is having the season start a month and five days earlier than we are.
“I know we need to start later because of what’s going on down here, it’s not that. UIL should have had more compassion or had a look around the state. They know about the Rio Grande Valley and the hotspots. The small schools didn’t get a fair shake on this.”
All East Valley UIL member schools and officials from District 16-4A Division I on down to District 16-A Division II will be in the same boat, including Santa Maria athletic director Israel Gracia, and Lyford athletic director Israel Gonzalez.
“I don’t understand why they didn’t (start all classes at the same time),” Gracia said. “I’m sure there’s a reason behind it, obviously. It’s kind of crazy because we all have different start dates. It puts us in a weird situation. … It kind of throws a wrench in the whole deal. It’s going to be a mess trying to reset schedules, and there’s going to be games we aren’t going to be able to play.”
Gracia offered that a possible explanation for the earlier start date for small schools could be the need to transition athletes over to basketball and other winter sports, a more challenging prospect at schools like Santa Maria, Santa Rosa or San Perlita, for example.
At Rio Hondo, its basketball class will be allowed to resume after Sept. 8 when on-campus instruction is permitted, but official practice outside the confines of the school day have not yet been addressed.
James and Raymondville athletic director Frank Cantu noted that their respective schools have budgeted in their central office expenses for fuel and meals for road games, so any travel outside the Valley that is canceled or rescheduled will either be saved or reallocated to account for new dates or travel plans.
Cantu, who said the Bearkats will not be able to start practicing until Sept. 21, joined the chorus of coaching voices who sought the extra time to help stem the rising tide of the coronavirus as hospitalizations continue to soar.
“Us being a (coronavirus) hotspot down here, we’re definitely going to miss out on some things,” Cantu said. “It would have been nice to start later like the 6A schools and just have everybody’s football seasons start the same. I think we were hurt by having the 4A schools start earlier, because we could have used that time to kind of recover, let the numbers go down and try to compete and have a full season. But that’s not the way it was mapped out.”
Gonzalez said he spoke with a UIL representative about the acclimation period for student-athletes to ramp back up, and adjust to the heat and the rigor of regular practices and games.
“There’s still a lot of questions, Gonzalez said. “If we’re not able to start on those days because of our county health orders, is the UIL going to change those (acclimation periods), or what are they going to do?”
Gonzalez and Cantu expressed optimism about being able to play in 2020, and East Valley coaches said they will adjust to meet the expectations of local health officials to do whatever they can to make it possible to have a fall sports season.
“I truly believe that football coaches are the best people to handle these types of situations,” Gonzalez said. “Because we deal with this kind of stuff all the time when it comes to coaching — the games are ever-changing, the athletes are ever-changing, the momentum of the game, highs and lows. I think coaches are well-suited for this situation and dealing under pressure. There’s no doubt that South Texas coaches are going to get the job done.”