NM may yet have high school sports season

At last, New Mexico may have a high school sports season, albeit abbreviated. Still, during this most unusual time in history, nothing is for certain.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced on Tuesday that every school district in the state can welcome all ages of students back to in-class learning on Feb. 8, with fall sports and activities starting on Feb. 22. The NMAA’s Board of Directors was to meet Wednesday, but tabled the adoption of a modified sports calendar to give superintendents a chance to seek further clarification from the state’s Public Education Department about how its policies could impact each school’s ability to participate in NMAA-sanctioned departments.

The Board of Directors is now set to reconvene on Monday to revisit the proposed calendar, which still includes seasons for all sports.

“We’ve waited 10 1/2 months to get to this point,” Clovis High athletic director Lonnie Baca said. “I’m pretty excited right now.

“We don’t know the length of seasons, how many games (teams) can play, or if there will be (state) championships. There’s a lot of questions still to be answered.”

NMAA executive director Sally Marquez said in a release that everyone in her group remains optimistic, if only cautiously so.

“The NMAA is still very excited that our students will be able to return to the sports and activities that they love next month,” she said. “We understand, however, that in order to make the best decision for the kids of New Mexico, superintendents would like clarification from the Public Education Department regarding several topics still needing resolution.”

Area athletic directors also remain hopeful, but have seen those hopes dashed before.

“We’re still planning on starting the sports on Feb. 22,” Portales High’s Mark Gallegos said. “We’re just approaching it as ‘hey, we’re going to start.’ ”

Football, cross country and volleyball will be the first sports to get going, with boys and girls soccer set to begin on March 1. Questions remain about how long seasons will be, and whether or not state championship competitions are to be played.

“At least they’re (state and NMAA) talking, finally, but until it’s ready to go … we’ll see how far it goes,” Texico AD Ryan Autrey said. “The governor’s come out and given us a date, and that’s what we’re going to work towards.”

The latest proposal prior to this was to try to start on Feb. 1, so the state is now faced with trying to cram everything into three fewer weeks. State finals, assuming they come about, are still slated to be finished by June 26.

Clovis High football coach Cal Fullerton said it’s important to get prep sports off the ground again.

“I think the biggest deal is that it’s a step in the right direction,” said Fullerton, who is in his fourth campaign at the Wildcats’ helm. “We’re going to prepare like we’re going to play. I think the kids deserve a chance to be able to compete.”

Shortly after COVID-19 was declared a worldwide epidemic in early March, schools began to close to in-person learning. Following the completion of the state basketball tournaments on March 14, the remaining spring sports calendar was canceled and activities have not resumed since.

The NMAA is slated to put the state’s football schedule together, with schools taking care of scheduling for the other sports.

“We’re anticipating having fall sports (at the beginning),” Elida AD Kurt Cook said. “Our kids are excited about the opportunity.

“Who knows what it’ll look like in the end? My concern is I don’t know what kind of commitment were going to have with the kids (due to the stops and potential starts), but I’m going to be optimistic.”

Gallegos said he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself on anything.

“It’s a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said of the proposed start. “We just need to keep plugging along like we’re going to play.”