High school sports are back, but the wait was painful
It may be abbreviated, shortened, cut, sliced, diced, minced, chopped, and even swirled around a bit, BUT, we finally have a high school sports season!
Whew! And thank goodness.
Mainly, thank goodness for the senior athletes who will at least have some memories and mementos from the season that was 2021. But also, of course, for the parents, coaches and fans. Well, maybe not the fans as - at least for now - they will not be able to attend the games in person.
Good news, though. Even if you can't be at the games, many GBS or GBN events will be livestreamed. That means we can all watch with our electronic devices. It's not quite the same, but we will take what we can get.
Competition is competition, right? So, let the games begin. It has been way too long, and many are not used to sitting on the sidelines. Some of our coaches took the delay particularly hard.
Hopefully there is no truth to the rumor that Glenbrook South basketball coach Phil Ralston was seen roaming empty school hallways in the early evening, all by himself, calling out basketball plays.
Or, I hope it is a false claim that Titan girls hoops coach Scott Nemecek, missing the games so much, sporadically interrupted his math class lessons with sudden outbursts of incoherently yelling at an imaginary referee and/or diagraming out of bounds plays on the blackboard in front of a confused, if not amused, classroom of students.
It's been no less severe over in Northbrook, as apparently Spartan boys swim coach Jared Schroeder was continually heard describing the finer points of the flip turn to his social studies class, while rumor has it GBN gymnastics coach Julie Holmbeck was seen using classroom desks as vaults to see which students could "stick the landing."
Like I said, thank goodness we're back, and apparently none too soon!
So it's off to the races for boys swimming and diving, boys basketball, girls basketball, girls gymnastics, badminton, bowling and cheer teams. The games and matches are going on as I write, and there is no luxury of working your way slowly into the season. You have to be ready right from the git-go.
No developing as the season goes on, for the time is now and the season is short. Sophomores and juniors getting a taste of varsity action for the first time will be thrown into the fire. But, in all fairness, everyone is in the same boat.
Boys soccer, field hockey, football, volleyball, boys gymnastics and water polo will soon follow with March tryout dates and competition, while baseball, softball, track and field, lacrosse, tennis, wrestling, and girls soccer will all have to wait until April. With any luck, the snow may have melted by then.
For the truly perceptive fan, yes, overlapping of sports will be a problem. With the condensed seasons for each sport, some of our young athletes will have to choose between teams, or maybe finishing one season and then joining another while in progress. But considering the alternative, that's a good problem to have.
The main thing, though, is high school sports are back, and participants will get to experience the competition and team camaraderie that can be so vital to their total school experience.
It will behoove all to cherish each game, each half, each quarter, each event, each practice, each strength drill, each conditioning run. They will all be in short supply this year.
Most important, and above everything else, is to do everything you can to stay safe and healthy. We have fought this hard to get this far, and our school districts have done a wonderful job of adapting under pressure while keeping the school environment as safe as possible.
So don't get complacent and let it all go to waste. That holds true for not only our athletes, but for parents, classmates, family, fans etc. We all know it can end just as quickly as it started up.
Then we would have to restart the whole process, and I would have to write this same column all over again. And none of us would want that.