By Brad Spiegel

Granite State News Collaborative

With athletes and coaches eager to return to the fields in the fall, schools in New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association are considering changes to high school sports schedules that will reduce the risk of coronavirus exposore, including focusing on games closer to home rather than traveling long distances to play school in the same division. 

Currently the NHIAA bylaws allow schools to schedule games against opponents in different divisions. There are caveats, like having to play a certain amount of games in their classification, in order to still be able to play in the end-of-the-season playoffs. As the fall season gets closer, however, there is talk among coaches and athletic directors of schools forgoing some of the traditional games against rival schools and instead opting to stay close to limit long bus trips and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

At Kennett High School in North Conway, the most northern Division 2 school in New Hampshire, driving an hour or more to a game is normal. Sports divisions are set by school size, not location. 

“Our closest contest is generally one hour away,” said Neal Weaver, Kennett’s athletic director, “and when you start looking at the teams we play in the southwestern part of the state.. those are close to three hours away.”

During a normal season, Kennett athletes travel as far as Amherst, Hollis or Claremont for a game. Because of the pandemic, Weaver is considering keeping athletes closer to home.

“We would be open to playing smaller schools closer geographically. Spending less time on the bus makes a lot of sense to us.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations suggested minimizing travel in guidelines it released in May for reopening school sports. Of course, a lot has changed since May and there will be more changes between now and September, when games are set to begin. The NHIAA may still make changes to it’s policies. 

“The flexibility (to play outside of the division) has always been there,” said Jeff Collins, executive director of NHIAA. “If we need to open it further (and allow more games) to consider the nature of travel and social distancing guidelines on busses, we will take a closer look as it gets closer to the start of the season. We put out parameters and guidelines as far as minimum and maximum games played in your division but that’s not to say we won’t modify it due to the nature of what’s going on.”

The decision of school schedules will fall on individual schools, Collins said. 

“By and large everyone is looking to do whatever is necessary to get games in and the  season in. We don’t directly manage school’s schedules but we know athletic directors are committed to readjusting schedules if they have to end up playing closer opponents.”

Bow High School athletic director Mike Desilets, president of the New Hampshire Athletic Directors Association, explained that changing the number of inter-division games has often come up over the years among his peers. However, he pointed out that many schools have set their schedules for the 2020-2021 school year at this point, and are not interested in more changes. 

“I don’t think we (athletic directors) will try to reduce the number of games against different divisions,” Desilets said. 

He worries that if the NHIAA changes its guidance to focus on less travel, schools might have fewer games, which would be disappointing for students. 

“If that is a possibility we will meet and make new schedules. We will do anything we can to get these kids back on the field.”

Some schools explored the option of switching sports seasons. That would allow, for example, spring sports that were canceled last school year to be played in the fall. However, that option is unpopular and complicated, Desilets said. 

“I don’t think it’s gained a lot of steam,” Desilets said. “At our weekly AD meetings it has come up a couple times. But we could run into athletes who then have multiple sports in the same and in the same season and they would have to choose.”

For Patrick Britton, a rising senior at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, switching seasons would be OK. In the end, he just wants to get back on the field with his friends and teammates.

“I would do anything to get the season in,” said Britton, the starting quarterback for the Warriors who missed a few games last year due to a concussion. “We just want to get the season played.”

Donning the pads and lacing up the cleats is especially important for Britton and the Warriors, who went through a winless season in 2019 under first-year head coach Ryan Francoeur.

“We never thought it would get to this point where football could be cancelled,” Britton said. “But we’re hoping for the best. We're hoping for the season and a chance to redeem ourselves.”

With Covid-19 numbers in New Hampshire looking positive, the NHIAA laid out reopening guidelines on June 24. The guidelines started that team non-contact workouts can start immediately, per the OK by individual cities.

“What we are trying to do … is put out guidelines to enable schools to play sports this fall. That’s what our goal is,” said Collins, of the NHIAA. “(Right now) the numbers in New Hampshire are looking good. We are cautiously optimistic. The numbers continue to look good with infection rates decreasing and a natural by-product of that will be how we engage in sports the best way possible.”

Over the summer, more details for upcoming sports seasons are likely to emerge. 

“When a decision is made on what schools will look like in the fall, so too will we have more solidified plans with sports,” Collins said. 

Weaver, of Kennett High School, said he is just preparing with the information he has today.

“There are so many unknowns right now, it’s really impossible to predict what is going to happen in August,” Weaver said. “We are still planning like we will have practice on Aug. 14 and 17. That’s all we know right now.”

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.