On July 20th, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced changes to 2020-2021 high school sports. The athletic year will now have only two sports seasons – fall/winter and spring – which will be consolidated to fit within the school year. High school fall sports will begin December 14, 2020 and end by April 2021. High school spring sports will begin in March 2021 and conclude by May 2021. Specific start dates will be determined by each of the 10 regional sections under CIF. The San Diego CIF section indicated they will release the full year sports calendar by August 14, 2020.
Some of the biggest impacts to the Coronado High School program will be the sports that will compete during a different season. This creates conflicts for athletes who play multiple sports and also stresses the limited facilities available for CHS athletes including the gym, fields, pool, range, and courts. Fall will now have two sports – girls and boys volleyball — using the CHS gym. The spring season will see four sports — boys and girls soccer along with boys and girls lacrosse – vying for use of Niedermeyer field.
CHS 2020-2021 Updated Sports Seasons
| Fall Season | Spring Season |
| Boys water polo | Baseball |
| Boys volleyball (traditionally Spring) | Boys basketball (traditionally winter) |
| Cheer | Boys golf |
| Coed cross country | Boys lacrosse |
| Football | Boys soccer (traditionally winter) |
| Girls volleyball | Boys tennis |
| Girls water polo (traditionally Spring) | Coed track and field |
| Girls basketball (traditionally winter) | |
| Girls golf (traditionally fall) | |
| Girls lacrosse | |
| Girls soccer (traditionally winter) | |
| Girls tennis (traditionally fall) | |
| Softball |
For CHS coaches this announcement has both positives and negatives. CHS Girls tennis coach Amanda Heinken shared she is glad CIF made a good decision. “It is best to postpone than to deal with any interruptions due to cancelled matches.” Girls and Boys tennis typically play in opposite seasons but will both be playing during the 2021 spring season. CHS tennis uses the four courts at the Robbin Adair Tennis Court Complex which will be tough to accommodate both teams. Coach Heinken said, “Sharing courts will be a challenge, we have to navigate and be flexible.” Fortunately the tennis complex has lights that can extend the hours of play until 10pm.
CHS volleyball has an additional challenge as the girls varsity volleyball head coach, Adeile Ahmu, is also the boys junior varsity coach. Coach Ahmu shared she was relieved that there would be a fall volleyball season, but was torn how to work with both teams. Coach Ahmu decided, “My priority is with the girl’s varsity program, but I will assist where I am needed for the boy’s program as well.” Volleyball also has the challenge of limited facilities. The Coronado High School gym has two volleyball courts that will need to accommodate practices and games for the three girls volleyball teams (varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) along with the two boys teams (varsity and junior varsity). Coach Adeile shared, “I have confidence that our Athletic Director Robin Nixon and administration will be able to accommodate both teams. I also am hopeful the coaching staff will be flexible with scheduling and I’d like to think all coaches will do their part under the unique circumstances we are in.”
For many student athletes, this announcement brings both relief and disappointment. Athletes training all summer in preparation for the fall season will not be able display their ability. Girls volleyball player, Sadie Johnson, shared, “I had been working hard throughout the quarantine (same as most of my teammates) to stay in shape. Knowing now that our fall season has been postponed is extremely disheartening.” CHS cheerleader, Leila Gimber, commented, “Learning about cheer being pushed back this year was sad because football season is one of my favorites! I am really excited that we will still have a season even if it is later on and in the upcoming months!” CHS girls water polo athlete, Katherine Wastilla, reflected on her season starting in the fall as opposed to spring. “The girl’s season will not be affected by much, we will continue to practice and train as if the season has not shifted. I am just excited that we will play again and get back into the swing of things!”
Consolidating all high school sports into two seasons will present unique challenges for multi-sport athletes. CHS athlete Allie White plays both varsity lacrosse and varsity basketball. Due to the merging of the sports seasons, she is being forced to pick one sport. Allie said, “I am upset because I am not able to play both basketball and lacrosse, but I understand with the circumstances that this is the best option to keep us all safe.”
While the CHS academic school schedule is still to be determined, CHS athletes, coaches, and fans can look forward to school sports.
