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Vermont high school sports received an early and unexpected Christmas present on Tuesday morning when Gov. Phil Scott announced no-contact practices could begin on Saturday.
The announcement was surprising, with no true evidence for why the decision was made and what the next steps toward a return to play are. VPA competition was supposed to begin on Jan. 11, but that is no longer realistic.
Yet the news finally gives some reason for cautious optimism for not just players but also coaches whose winters revolve around their teams.
Hartford High boys hockey coach Todd Bebeau has been reminded daily that, in New Hampshire, teams have been practicing for nearly a month. As a physical education teacher at Hanover High, he’s been watching students head into the gym for basketball and hockey bags float around the hallways after morning workouts.
He even took to Twitter on Dec. 2 with a list of things he will never take for granted again as a hockey coach, including the smell of the locker room, film sessions with players and the “God-awful music from the I-room.”
Before Tuesday’s announcement, Bebeau was starting to contemplate if he would ever get on the ice at Wendell A. Barwood Arena this winter. The last time he wasn’t playing or coaching the game of hockey was when he was 5 years old, he said.
“Hockey’s critical for me to be the best version of myself,” said Bebeau, a 1987 Hartford grad who is entering his 23rd season on the Hurricanes’ bench. “It’s a hectic schedule, but it’s my favorite time of the year. I find so much pleasure in it, even sharpening skates or going over my mind on a tough conversation I have to have with a player later. Those are the things that I love about coaching, and those have been taken away from me.
“I can only vacuum the living room so much when I get home.”
Mike Gaudette has had similar thoughts.
When he stepped away from the Hartford boys basketball job in 2011, he wasn’t sure he would get back to the varsity level ever again. He then took the opening at White River Valley two seasons ago and never once thought others would decide if he could hold a practice.
A 1980s Hartford hooper, Gaudette’s day job is as operations manager with Student Transportation of America, based out of White River Junction. Lately after work, he’s been watching college basketball to fill the void. But daily interactions with players after a practice or on the bus have been the hardest piece to replace.
Gaudette has been talking about this 2020-21 team since last winter. Set to return one of the Upper Valley’s best 3-point shooters in junior Dominic Craven, the Wildcats won’t begin practice until Jan. 11 when WRVS returns to in-person learning.
“You always looked forward to getting back on the court because you knew you were getting back out there,” said Gaudette, whose team went 13-9 last winter and fell to Rivendell in the VPA Division IV quarterfinals. “This year, you just don’t know. I feel empty.”
Vermont won’t offer indoor track this winter because of a shortage in availability of facilities to use for competition. The decision means the Thetford boys squad won’t defend its D-II state crown and the girls won’t have a chance at redemption after finishing second to Hartford.
Charlie Buttrey, TA’s indoor track coach, would’ve been in his 10th season, making trips to UVM’s campus for meets and stops at Al’s French Frys in South Burlington on the way home.
“It was the right decision, even if it was disappointing,” he said. “There was no option but to cancel the season. I think the only thing keeping me going is we could possibly train in the hallways, but it’s awfully hard to find motivation when there’s no meets to train for.”
Barry Emerson has two sons, one in eighth grade and another a junior at Oxbow. He’s seen firsthand as a parent how badly his kids need social interaction outside of classwork.
He’s also a physical education teacher at Oxbow, running gym classes, and has been confused lately what the difference between gym class and basketball practice is. But as the Olympians’ girls basketball coach, last week’s announcement allows Emerson to finally interact with his team for the first time since last season, when they were named a co-champion with three other schools because the VPA D-III tournament was canceled at the semifinal stage by the pandemic.
Both boys and girls basketball at Oxbow won’t begin until Jan. 4, so players are in compliance with the current travel and household gathering restrictions.
“I hope there will be games,” Emerson said. “I think that is what’s holding the kids together. Who knows at this point? I’m trying to be optimistic and realistic.
“I speak quite frequently with my athletic director, and I don’t think those conversations (about what a return to play will take) are even held at that level. Certainly, I don’t think it’s common knowledge around schools.”
MONTPELIER — A return to play is in sight for Vermont high school sports.
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In a Tuesday morning news conference, Gov. Phil Scott announced that school-based sports and youth recreation can begin a phased restart Saturday. Due to COVID-19, practices must be no-contact skill and strength focused, and athletes must wear a mask and be physically distanced at all times. With school entering winter break, some teams might wait to start until January.
On Nov. 25, Scott decided to postpone all high school sports indefinitely. The original plan rolled out by the state and the Vermont Principals Association had proposed practices for winter sports to start on Nov. 30, with competition beginning Jan. 11.
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“We found out this morning, shortly before the governor’s press conference,” VPA associate executive director Bob Johnson said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “We’re excited. It still does not deal with the issue of games because that will come at a later time, but at least it allows for things to start. It’s what many people wanted, and I think they’ve been looking forward to this.
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“We’re still planning for games and competition. I think a lot of it has to do with what happens between Christmas and New Year’s in terms of the COVID rates. That was something the governor was really focusing on.”
The timeline for full-contact practices and a return to competition is unknown, but coaches are excited to finally interact with their teams.
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“I think this year, every practice we have is going to be a victory,” said Thetford Academy girls basketball coach Eric Ward, who organized a small rally at the state capitol Tuesday morning to show that students want to play winter sports. “Whatever happens, just being on the court every day we can is going to be a small victory.”
TA announced earlier in the month that all winter sports would not commence until Jan. 25. Ward is hopeful that with a date from the state, the academy will lift the pause and let kids at least begin conditioning.
“Our team hasn’t been together since March 12; that was our last practice,” Ward said of his squad, which was named a co-champion last season with three other schools when the VPA D-III tournament was canceled at the semifinal stage. “Now we get the go-ahead to finally start some skill work. It’s been too long for them.”
When Scott initially paused sports in the Green Mountain State, COVID-19 cases had risen for two consecutive weeks and the state was bracing for a bigger uptick with Thanksgiving days away. Now new cases have declined after record highs in early December.
Also mentioned in Tuesday morning’s announcement was a return to prior guidance on outdoor activities, such as skiing, hiking and sledding, now allowed between multiple households with social distancing and masks required.
“Let’s go,” said Hartford athletic director Jeff Moreno, who said he’s hoping to have practices begin Monday. “I feel like we can put a plan together to keep (student-athletes) as safe as possible, and I think the kids being in a structured, team-based environment is exactly what they need. I’m happy we can get going with that.”
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Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.