Once again, coach Patrick Bradley and his Kealakehe cross country team will have to wait — this time until January 2021.
In a press release announced on Wednesday, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) executive board approved by majority vote to postpone the start of moderate and high-risk fall sports to January 2021, which affects cheerleading, cross country, football, and girls volleyball. Air riflery and bowling are classified as low-risk sports with the implementation of safety guidelines and are slated to proceed in the fall as scheduled.
The action by the board was based on public health and safety due to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases statewide.
“It’s a heartbreak,” Bradley said. “These kids just lost their track season. The fact that we are now having two seasons in a row that won’t happen — I hope we have a cross country season from next January to March like it’s been proposed. That would actually be nice because it would be great training before heading into track. But it’s a heartbreak for the kids who dedicated a lot of training this summer.”
Since the outbreak of the pandemic that closed schools and canceled all high school sporting events throughout the state since mid-March, Bradley initially held out hope for a possible return of a shortened track season in May. But that hope disappeared as schools remained closed until the end of the school year.
By early summer, things began taking a positive turn with the state reporting low COVID cases, giving the government confidence to slowly reopen the economy in phases. However, all that changed with a resurgence of COVID cases — primarily on Oahu — over the past few weeks. Bradley said that he’s “learned to just expect the unexpected.”
“There’s been so many ideas thrown out — everything from looks like things are going back to being normal to complete cancellation,” he said. “So, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was hoping we would just delay the cross country season a month or so. But moving it all the way to January, I think that’s an idea from Honolulu.
“I’m not sure that I agree that cross country is a moderate-risk sport. I think cross country is a low-risk sport. In fact, you could make cross country even more low-risk if you use staggered starts. I’ve seen that done before where every runner takes off 15 to 20-seconds after one another and the computer could calculate the times when they finish. That would make a lot of sense and I thought that was actually being discussed, but looks like they are just going to go with moving all fall sports to January.”
The idea of staggered starts to socially distance and using chip timing is no different from the recent Hilo Climbing Time Trial that occurred on July 18 in which cyclists started individually on 30-second intervals. That event proved to be successful in accomplishing several goals: a safe event utilizing social distancing protocols, accurate results with a computerized timing system, and an event that was fun for all who competed.
As a coach and mentor, Bradley, who is credited with the success of Konawaena High School’s running programs during his five years as head coach (2013–18) prior to coaching at Kealakehe High School, said keeping his athletes motivated during this difficult time has been his biggest challenge.
“It’s been just one disappointment after another,” he said. “A lot of these kids need encouragement as they are not self-motivated. So, I just need to keep encouraging them that the season is going to happen, that you just got to keep training on your own as at some point, it’s going to pay off.”
And more than ever, his athletes are looking for guidance. Bradley wants them to know that their health is the most important thing.
“If they practice good social distancing and good hygiene, then there’s no reason they couldn’t train normally like they would,” he said. “I want them to know that this is doable, don’t throw the season away and don’t throw all of your training and background away just because of the virus. You are not going to get sick from going out running. It’s probably better for your immune system and your overall health to stay in shape.
“I’m just heartbroken as a coach and mentor for these kids because I know what they feel. I went through this, I went through high school and college cross country, and if you took any one of my seasons away, I would’ve been just so sad. I feel so bad for them. But I want them to just hang in there, we are going to have it, it’s just going to be late.”