Coronavirus: MA School Athletics Adjust To Shock Of New Reality

HINGHAM, MA — The spirit of community is strong around the Hingham High School athletic department. On a typical school day, Hingham athletic director Jim Quatromoni said it's not unusual to have three, four, five coaches hanging out in and around his office, along with waves of high school athletes who come and go through the hallways past the office, on their way to the gym and surrounding athletic fields.

"Sometimes I'm involved with those conversations, and sometimes I'm not," Quatromoni told Patch. "But it's always a very active place. To have that taken away from me is hard."

That sense of teamwork, belonging and comfort was taken away from student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators throughout the state in the past week when the basketball and hockey state championships were canceled, school was suspended statewide for at least three weeks, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association pushed back the start of the spring athletic season first to March 30, then this week to April 27, due to the new coronavirus epidemic.

Instead of being in the weight room, or on the field, with their teammates each day, athletes who have grown to rely on that team structure are being told not only to stay home but to stay away from their friends, teammates and their respective sports as they've always known them.

"The schedule is basically such an established component in their lives," Quatromoni said. "To have that taken away is painful. You can tell them what things they can do, and they have ways (digitally) of being in contact, but it's not the same as being with your teammates shoulder to shoulder here (at the school)."

Working Out In the World Of Social Distancing

Mansfield athletic director Joe Russo said his coaches have been in touch with athletes about individual workouts they can do on their own, or with family, while not violating the social distancing directives aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.

"How can you condition while in your house?" Russo said. "Can you go run in the street? What can you do with your family to maintain fitness? Am I naïve to the fact that two kids who are neighbors might be playing catch together? No. But we are stressing the importance of this social distancing with individual track workouts, and skills things that baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis players can do by themselves."

With the social connection being such a strong part of being a high school student-athlete, Quatromoni admitted it's taken some reinforcement to prevent the athletes from meeting for a pickup game of basketball or lacrosse captain's practice.

"We've had to actively discourage these group activities," Quatromoni said. "Parents have looked to us to help when kids have wanted to go out and meet each other to play. We've let the coaches know what sport it is, and we've done that. We've told them just to be responsible.

"Young people think this won't affect them, and that they're invincible, and they can ignore this, but we've had to make them realize that is not the case," he added.

Staying Connected In A Time Of Isolation

While coaches are not allowed to work with their players even through group video conferences during the initial three-week school closure — which is considered "out of season" — Quatromoni said he is hoping the MIAA will provide guidance on how the coaches can reach out to whole teams via that and other digital means should the state school closure and social distances advisory be extended beyond the current April 6 return date.

In the meantime, he said coaches from all seasons are being encouraged to contact their athletes at least once every three days on a personal level.

"If nothing else, it keeps up a connection," Quatromoni said. "With uncertainty, that can create a sense of isolation and fear."

Russo said in Mansfield the coaches and administrators are trying to fight that fear with positivity. That's why he is promoting the idea that the current first day of spring practice will be held April 27, and that athletes should spend the next month being focused on being ready to get back on the fields that day, instead of being discouraged about a potential lost season.

"We are pushing that optimism that we will get out on the field at some point and that our seniors will have that one last opportunity," he said. "It's not like in college where these kids can come back (for a fifth year of eligibility) if it is granted, and they can afford it. High school sports are a one-shot deal. If we can give it a go, we're going to give it a try."

The MIAA Tournament Committee is scheduled to meet this week to determine what a shortened season would look like in terms of length of schedule, preseason workout requirement and possible state tournament, should the state allow schools back in session and high school sports to begin April 27.

"We just have to be patient and realize that sometimes these decisions really are out of our hands," MIAA Communications Director Tara Bennett said. "People larger than us are making those decisions, and we have to respect that."

If There Is A Chance We Can Play, We'll Play This Spring

Quatromoni said he has talked with his spring coaches, as well as fellow ADs in the Patriot League and South Shore League, about making the most of any season allowed this spring.

"We have no cutoff date where we would not consider something right up until the end of the school year," Quatromoni said. "I've asked my coaches to be prepared for the smallest available window, even if that is a short league schedule with no tournament, or even a weekend tournament, as long as it gives seniors a chance to enjoy that experience."

The spring season can often be a strange time in high school sports. Looming graduation, proms and student award ceremonies — and an eye to the future that may not include living in the town where many of the athletes have spent their entire lives — can lead to the occasional lessened focus and dedication commonly referred to as "senioritis."

But if anything positive can come from having the world turned upside down for thousands of students-athletes across the state — as a fractional part of the disruption in an unprecedented time in history — Russo believes that when that day comes when these athletes can step back on those fields together, it will be with a whole new appreciation of what that opportunity truly means to them.

"I think this will show them you want to cherish every moment you get to be together, " Russo said, "and not waste a single day."