High School Coaches, Players Planning Rallies Hoping to Launch Fall Sports
Lincoln-Way East's AJ Henning evades Warren High School defenders on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, during the IHSA Class 8A State Football Championship at Huskie Stadium in Dekalb. (Source: Shaw Media)
A group of high school sports coaches from around the state is organizing rallies in Chicago and at the State Capitol in Springfield this weekend coined the “Let Us Play” rally for coaches, players, and parents. They’re attempting to get Governor JB Pritzker to reverse course to allow fall sports. One of the organizing coaches, Rochester football coach Derek Leonard, one of the most decorated high school coaches in any sport over the past ten years, says now that other states are playing high school sports as well as many college conferences and professional leagues, it’s time to reassess the situation.
“I think we [in Illinois] have done a good job and taken it slow, but they’re doing it in other places and they’re having success,” he says. “We’re going to take better care of these kids than at the college or pro level. They wear their masks because they want to do it. Kids are going from home to practice and back home. It’s almost like a college or pro [bubble].”
Many high school fall sports, including football, were postponed to the spring or another point in the school year by metrics laid out by Governor JB Pritzker and enforce by the Illinois High School Association, a non-government entity which oversees high school sports in the state.
In a statement, IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson says the organization wants to return to sports and activities as soon as it is “safe to do so.”
“We are deeply aware of the positive mental and physical benefits that participation has on high school students in Illinois,” he says. I do not know what, if any, impact these protests will have on that process, but I respect the right of the attendees to do so, and their desire to advocate for themselves.”
Governor Pritzker’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Illinoize.
Anderson praised Pritzker for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but says it is easy to see how coaches, players, and parents feel.
“I understand the frustration our students and coaches feel from seeing other states participate in sports like volleyball and football while we are on the sidelines here,” he says. “If state officials allow us to reconsider that model, we will perform due diligence in reevaluating our schedules and timelines.”
Anderson did not say, though, if he supports starting the seasons earlier than planned.
The IHSA announced Friday it had sent Pritzker a letter asking for control over the sports schedule, which they had yielded to the administration this summer.
Leonard says, in the end, much of the frustration comes down to Governor Pritzker.
“It’s like the head coach. The offensive coordinator may make a bad call, but, in the end, it’s on the head coach, says Leonard, using a football analogy. “Coaches and players felt like they had no voice and we were not being heard, being talked to, or being trusted as professionals as what we do. [Pritzker] has a high percentage of it, but he doesn’t have all the blame.”
“We need to give these kids some hope and something to work for,” Leonard says. “And, that’s all they want. It’s not just football, it’s bands, cheerleaders, and other clubs, too.”
The Chicago rally is scheduled for 10am Saturday at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and 1pm in the east front of the Statehouse by the Lincoln statue. A list of speakers for either rally was not yet available.