Moses Lake High School athletic director discusses impact of Inslee’s school closure on spring season
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Lions Field, which hosts Moses Lake High School boys soccer in the spring, will remain empty this season after it was announced Monday that schools would remain closed through the end of the academic year.
For the last 45 years, Moses Lake High School Athletic Director Loren Sandhop said he’s gone to school, every day.
“It’s kind of weird, first of all to be working from home, now to know the school year is done,” Sandhop said. “I guess there was even some hint of maybe it’s going to extend into fall. I don’t know. I’m kind of in awe.”
Gov. Jay Inslee made the decision on Monday to keep schools closed across the state through the remainder of the academic year, effectively ending spring sports. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association issued a statement confirming what was surmised from the governor’s order, that prep sports are over.
“The WIAA has received clarification that the order issued by Governor Inslee on Monday includes the cancellation of all in-person extracurricular athletics and activities through the end of the school year,” the WIAA said in a post to social media. “This will include all regular season contests and practices as well as all postseason tournament and championship events.”
Watching colleges make a similar decision already regarding their spring campaigns, Sandhop said it didn’t surprise him to see things come to this.
“When you look at college kids, they were given another year of eligibility,” Sandhop said. “A high school kid isn’t going to get that. They’re just going to graduate and move on, do whatever they were gonna do. It’s kind of anti-climactic for them.”
The Moses Lake athletic director said he feels bad for the seniors, especially, who won’t have a chance at their final spring season. While it’s just a small chunk of their time at school, Sandhop said it’s hard to measure the impact for a kid who’s been waiting years for this moment, their senior season.
“What do you say to a kid that didn’t get their last year?” Sandhop asked. “It’s just, words are at a loss right now for me, what you could say to a kid. There’s nothing you can do to heal it, it’s just going to be something that’ll be an asterisk in the annals, like it never happened.”
Sandhop said it’s tough thinking about all of the teams whose seasons have been lost. Watching the Chiefs softball team in a scrimmage before the season was put on hold in March, Sandhop said he felt they had a great shot at making noise in the state tournament.
“I’m just watching them thinking, man, they’re good,” Sandhop said. “And it’s just too bad I’m not going to get to see them play.”
Some athletes took to social media to express their feelings after the announcement.
“I have loved representing Warden the past three years,” Warden senior Ryan Arredondo posted to Twitter. “There’s nothing better than playing for your hometown school with friends and family watching. I will continue to represent this program the best I can and I’m thankful for everything that it has brought me.”
Three Moses Lake coaches were heading into their first season at the helm this spring, including boys golf coach Terrance Melbye, boys soccer coach Derrick Gonzales, and tennis coach Davie Sawyer.
Loren Sandhop laughed thinking of a T-shirt Tony St. Onge had worn before the boys swim team had their own pool, reading “Undefeated at Home.” For Melbye, Gonzales and Sawyer, Sandhop joked no one will be able to deny they each went undefeated in their first seasons.
The Moses Lake AD said he doesn’t know how long all of this will go on, but wondered what the impact would be if the fall season ends up being affected as well.
For now, Sandhop said they’ll need to get direction on other matters, such as graduation, and how those will be affected by not retuning to school this spring, before addressing athletics.