By Michael LEVITSKY

In what has been seven long months for coaches, athletes and athletic directors, sports made its long-awaited return to the Crescenta Valley High School campus. On Oct. 12, football, boys’ volleyball, and cross-country began. Water polo, both boys’ and girls’ teams, and girls’ volleyball began practice on Monday this week.
GUSD released formal guidelines that all schools must adhere to in order to safely phase athletics back into action. The list has numerous precautions that all coaches will be following while holding practices. Many of these include sanitization of equipment and personal cleanliness, physical distancing and frequent health screenings of players and coaches.
The guidelines also present several restrictions and limitations on the number of participating personnel and use of facilities. Practices are permitted to players in cohorts of 10, with a maximum of two coaches per cohort. Multiple cohorts are allowed to practice at the same time in each sport, as long as the physical space is sufficient.
For the time being, all teams are conducting skill-building and conditioning practices. Anything further cannot be done unless the LA County Dept. of Public Health allows it, and that will all depend on the County’s risk level of the virus as time goes on.
Phasing back into athletics will require cohesion on all levels, from the administrators to the coaches and, most importantly, the student athletes. With competition set to begin in under three months, trying not to look too far ahead and taking things day-by-day will be a focus for all coaches. Patience is vital.
“I can only control what I can control,” said varsity football head coach Hudson Gossard. “We’re just going to keep chugging away with what we’re allowed to do and hope for the best.”
School facilities will continue to remain closed to the public until further notice to ensure the safety of coaches and players. GUSD has not determined whether in-person instruction will return for the spring semester.
And while the road ahead will seem long and arduous, remaining optimistic has been the universal attitude at CVHS.
“For the kids’ sake, for the school’s sake, I hope we get to the point where we can play,” said Assistant Principal of Athletics Jordan Lessem. “We all want to and we know that the kids – and the community – definitely need it. It would be great to have something to cheer for and to kind of bring people together.”
Competition for all CV fall sports is set to begin in late December except for football; Falcon football’s first contest is scheduled for Jan. 8.