Winter storm hinders first day of IHSA practices for DeKalb as other schools get warmups in

Just as high school sports teams were cleared to start practicing again Monday, per IHSA guidelines, a winter storm hit the area and put a crimp in those plans for some schools.

There also was further excitement as DeKalb County’s health region entered Phase 4 in the Restore Illinois planning, allowing at least some level of competition in all sports to take place, not just practices.

The IHSA is expected to release a schedule Wednesday to show what football, basketball, wrestling and other winter and spring sports will look like.

“They’ve been coming at us pretty fast,” Sycamore football coach Joe Ryan said. “You go from a lot of unknowns to not as many unknowns, that’s some excitement for the kids with some greater hope. For a while it wasn’t looking good. Anytime we can give the kids hope, especially with what’s been going on, we’re happy to do that.”

The Spartans were in the weight room for the first time since a brief two-week stint in the fall, not counting in-school PE classes in Sycamore District 427, which restarted in-person classes Jan. 19.

Ryan said there was good energy in the room Monday afternoon ahead of the storm.

“Our kids have been lifting remotely and doing it that way, but it’s not the same,” Ryan said. “We’ve always stressed that. The things we do we want to do with our teammates. To be back with them, be part of that setting, the weight room environment was excellent.”

Sycamore and Genoa-Kingston got most of their practices in Monday, as did Indian Creek according to its Twitter account.

But at DeKalb, Peter Goff said activities were postponed Monday and Tuesday ahead of the 5 to 8 inches of snow the region is expected to see.

“We’ve waited this long,” Goff said. “There’s no reason to risk anything else on top of what we’re already risking.”

In addition to girls basketball and volleyball, Genoa-Kingston football had its first weight room session Monday as well, and coach Chad Wilmarth said getting the athletes back in the building changed the energies of the workouts.

“Even in masks, it’s nice to be back in the building where they should be,” said Wilmarth, who also coaches the wrestling team. “It feels a little more like normal. It’s like those contact days we had in the fall. It’s awesome to see the kids doing what they enjoy.”

Goff said he wasn’t sure why the IHSA was waiting until Wednesday to announce what the schedules will look like. He said the DuPage Valley Conference already has discussed multiple scenarios of what might occur.

“I know everybody, the IHSA, the IDPH, the governor’s office, we’re all in it to make sure kids are safe,” Goff said. “But I know in my conference we have scenarios – if it’s here, boom, we’ve got this, we’ve got that. As soon as we hear Wednesday what’s going on, every athletic director that is able to start doing things is going to get on it.”

One of those variables is what happens if DeKalb remains in Phase 4 while DuPage County, part of Region 8, remains behind. The region just moved up into Tier 1 of Phase 3, and would need three days in a row of under 6.5% of a 7-day rolling positivity case rate. It hit a low of 7.3% on the latest day reported. The regional tiers and phased reopen protocol is part of the state’s effort to mitigate viral spread throughout the pandemic, with the state divided into regions which adhere to certain COVID-19 case thresholds to guide what is allowed.

In the fall, competition was allowed between regions if they were in the same athletic conference. It’s one of the areas Goff said he hopes is cleared up.

“Maybe they will let us,” Goff said. “We just don’t know yet.”

Goff said he hopes the recent movement over the past week means that the can isn’t going to be kicked down the road anymore and games will be starting soon.

“All these kids, all these seniors, I really hope they’re going to get a season,” Goff said. “Especially for spring sports because they missed all last year.”

Wilmarth also used the can analogy, saying it has been kicked as far as it can be kicked and was looking forward to a decision from the IHSA on Wednesday.

“I think a lot about the seniors and how they felt, and how they still feel,” Wilmarth said. “I put myself in their shoes and they handled it well. It was definitely not easy. It’s something they’ve done since they were able to run around in a helmet and pads or on a wrestling mat. But it can be a somewhat normal senior year as far as getting on the mat or on the field. I’m excited for them to get out there under the Friday night lights or on the mat in a dual meet and give them that opportunity.”