Tennis, cross country to be first test for Michigan high school sports in pandemic

Boys tennis, girls golf, cross country, and girls swim and dive — barring the opening of indoor facilities such as pools — received the green light by the Michigan High School Athletic Association to begin practices Aug. 12 and to start their seasons on time this fall during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Each sport will look different in some way, shape or form. There are still questions to be answered for each, especially as the season nears its end.

But right now, these sports are test subjects. 

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With the MHSAA self-imposing a deadline of Aug. 20 to decide on the schedule for boys soccer, football and volleyball, these low-risk sports will help the association see if a full return-to-play is feasible. 

Here’s a look at how area teams are responding to the guidance released last week. 

Tennis takes the lead

Rob McLaren was not surprised by the MHSAA announcement. 

While some of the specifics may have been unexpected, the Salem boys tennis coach repeated to his team throughout the summer months that he felt tennis was in good shape to return in the fall. 

But when the announcement came from the association, McLaren said a weight seemed to be taken off his players’ shoulders. 

“I saw a tremendous, almost relief in my players that they could do something normal,” McLaren said. “In-school had stopped on March 13 in our district, and for months they have been quarantined, not being able to see their school friends, their teammates. They looked incredibly relieved to be able to do something.”

However, it will look a bit different. 

The MHSAA announced that no preseason scrimmages will be held in the fall to limit exposure between separate programs. Also, in tennis schools will be limited to hosting only four teams at one time.

With those rules put in place, questions about regional and state tournaments have come up, about how a state champion would be crowned with the limitations put in place. 

for North Farmington first-year boys tennis head coach Andre Dupret, his approach to the season has shifted. 

“I feel like this season, the top priority is keeping my players safe,” Dupret said. “That comes first before winning and improving. It definitely changes the goals. Obviously, we plan to do well, but safety comes before anything.” 

Since the pandemic started and Dupret has taken over the North Farmington tennis program, he said he has added 60 more players to the team, creating a junior varsity program they did not have in the past.

With a sport viewed as one of the safer options in the pandemic, Dupret said there is something to prove when the tennis season starts. 

“Football is looked upon as if we can’t even do it in tennis, what hope is there in the other sports?” Dupret explained. “If we can just kind of take the lead and show that at least in tennis or cross country, that is goes well, I think it can build at least some level of confidence for those other sports.” 

This was McLaren’s message to his players as soon as they officially found out a season was going to happen: “‘If tennis can’t do it right, no team can do it right.’”

“‘There’s going to be a lot of people in our neighborhood and in our district that will say we shouldn’t be doing sports. They are going to be looking for those sports working out to be making mistakes and screwing up,’” McLaren said. “‘We are not going to be the team that screws it up. We’re going to do everything right.’”

Ready to run 

Cross country will be forced to make changes ahead of the upcoming season as well. 

The MHSAA announced races would be limited to 70 participants in the fall, and is considering staggered or intervaled starts to avoid congestion. 

But Tim Dalton, cross country coach at Northville, said no matter how the races would be run, his focus is on the fact there is a season to be played. 

“The ultimate goal through all of this is to give the kids an opportunity to compete in some shape or form this fall,” Dalton said. “Brief discussions have been had already of what that would look like: If it’s multiple races over two or three days, just splitting your team up to meet that 70-person threshold, and how do we do that.” 

Dalton said, even before the announcement, he was forced to change the upcoming schedule. 

Northville officially canceled its Mustang Invite, an annual early season race that has brought as many as 20 teams in the past to compete. Dalton said he could not find a way to keep this event safe for everyone involved. 

As a programof 50-60 runners, Dalton said the majority of the meets, with the 70-person threshold, is likely to be dual meets. With those limits, Dalton is unsure how the state competition will work at the end of the season. 

Rick Brauer, cross country coach at Livonia Stevenson, echoed Dalton's thoughts, admitting that meets and the season as a whole will look different. 

“But it’s still about competing and doing your best,” Brauer said. “I know they, as well as I, are just happy to be back together training and supporting one another.” 

Dalton knows cross country will be watched closely as one of only a few sports with the go-ahead for a normal season. For him, especially after the spring track season, he is just thankful for a sense of normalcy. 

“Coaching track and field in the spring and watching those kids lose a season, it’s devastating,” Dalton said. “Just keeping our kids in mind, but also understanding and balancing it with working through this pandemic and doing it the safest way possible.”

Contact reporter Colin Gay at cgay@hometownlife.com or 248-330-6710. Follow him on Twitter @ColinGay17. Send game results and stats to Liv-Sports@hometownlife.com.