Winslow, Page coaches grateful to resume season

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Jan 21, 2021 | CORONAVIRUS, Sports |

WINSLOW

Despite the rollercoaster of events in the past few weeks, the tireless efforts by members of the Winslow and Page basketball teams were on full display on Tuesday night.

The two teams have been practicing for months and for a brief moment their season was in limbo when the Arizona Interscholastic Association initially canceled the winter sports season on Jan. 7 due to the high rate of COVID-19 cases in the state of Arizona.

The AIA later rescinded that decision. “I’m really blessed to be playing tonight because I know that some kids of the reservation don’t have this opportunity,” said Winslow senior guard Tyrell Young, following Tuesday night’s game with the Sand Devil boys’ team.

“When they first canceled the season I was devastated and I was heartbroken,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do because things were looking negative.” In that initial vote, the AIA Executive board voted 5-4 to pull the plug on the basketball and wrestling seasons.

They based their reasoning on the number of available hospital beds in Arizona as the state was reporting a record seven-day average during the first week of January. At that time, Arizona was reporting new COVID-19 infections at a rate of 121.8 cases per 100,000 people.

That vote, however, caused a lot backlash from athletes, parents and coaches. In an emergency meeting, the AIA board reversed its decision five days later and they reinstated winter sports by a 5-4 decision.

“I’m glad they revisited it,” Page girls’ basketball coach Ryan Whitehorse said. “When they first canceled it, our girls were definitely heartbroken like any other team in Arizona, especially our seniors,” Whitehorse said.

“Our group of seniors have been playing for a long time, playing in AAU together. With the team chemistry that we have I was real excited about them playing this season.” The recent AIA ruling was welcome news for the Sand Devil players but before they could resume their season, they had to convince the Page school board to allow them to play winter sports.

“This was the third time they canceled the season on us,” Whitehorse said. “We’ve gone through a rollercoaster of emotions and it hurt every single time but luckily they reinstated it.” Once the school board canceled the winter sports season at Page High last semester, Whitehorse said the athletes and their parents wrote letters to members of the board.

“We communicated to our school board that they (parents) were OK with allowing their child to play,” he said. “Luckily, it worked out.” “I was super happy when they decided to have winter sports again,” Page senior Torrance Begay said. “I’m just glad they’re giving us another season because I can’t end have my senior year end like this without a season.

“I finish out my last year with a state title,” she added. “Last year we lost the title by seven points and it hurt and I want us to redeem ourselves.” Winslow girls basketball coach Jerron Jordan thanked the AIA for allowing their student-athletes to complete their season.

“We’re very fortunate and blessed to get the season back,” Jordan said. “It’s an honor and we all have to make the most of it.” With the winter sports being reinstated, the AIA did come down with some stipulations, including that all athletes, coaches and game officials wear a mask.

“The cloth mask is an adjustment that all teams have to go through,” Jordan said. Nonetheless, before that rule was implemented, the longtime Winslow coach said his players were already wearing masks 75% of the time during practice.

“Prior to the new modification being put in place we were kind of used to it but obviously we’re giving our kids more water breaks,” he said. Winslow boys basketball player Chris Arellano said wearing a mask is somewhat troublesome, especially when they’re going up and down the court.

“It bothers you sometimes when you’re breathing hard,” he said. “You’re sucking your mask, but overall it’s not as bad as you think.”

“It’s kind of difficult because you’re not getting the proper air flow,” Lady Bulldog Oniah Barton-Paddock chimed in. “But I think over time it’s going to get better.” Whitehorse said the mask usage is going to be different for a lot of teams this year and he’s anticipating that safety measure will be eliminated next season when everyone gets vaccinated.

Nevertheless, he said the sanitizing effort will still be in place for a while. “This is going to be the new norm for us,” he said. “It’s something that we all have to get used to.”