Metro East Sun

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors voted to proceed with the high school basketball schedules as planned, one day after Gov. Pritzker issued new COVID guidelines to put basketball on hold. 

With support from the IL Dept. Of Public Health, Priztker recently revised its winter safety guidelines to place basketball into the “high risk” category, placing it higher from its original “medium risk” allocation during his Oct. 27 announcement. 

In regards to the decision, Pritzker stated in the announcement, “What I would suggest is that if there's a difference of opinion, I prefer to err on the side of health and safety. And I think that's where we have intended for all of our guidance to fall.” 

With current tensions between the IHSA and Gov. Pritzker’s office, many local school districts have been unsure how to proceed with upcoming sport seasons. 

Stote Reeder has been the head Boy’s Basketball coach at Jersey Community High School in Jersey Bill, IL for 16 years. 

“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to do yet. It’s still 12 days away from the start of the season," said Reeder.

Reeder also spoke to the concern that local school districts have in the conflicting messages from Pritzker and the IHSA, which may leave local school officials in an administrative limbo. 

“I wish the IHSA and the Governor, the Health Dept. And so on could figure out a way to make this work without laying the responsibility on each individual school district,” said Reeder.

In his own district, different schools have been operating with different plans for the time being, stated Reeder. 

“We only have a six-team conference, but rumors are flying that some of them are going to play, but nothing’s been made official, said Reeder.

Lastly, Reeder emphasized a desire for a unified message from state officials on how to navigate COVID for the winter months. 

“If it’s deemed that it’s not safe enough to play, then so be it. But we’re all kind of dangling in the wind right now, and we’d sure like to at least have a say, especially the kids," he said. 

As many students are looking for a sense of normalcy through sports, it will be a complex balancing act to ensure that kids can stay safe while aiming to resume sporting events throughout Illinois.