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Published Feb 19, 2021
Long Island Schools Begin Gameplay.
Brian Reichert
Staff Writer

In late January, Long Island got the green light allow high risk sports to be played starting February 1st. Teams began to scramble to get their rosters together and have enough practices to start gameplay. The schedules are different featuring mostly league games with a few programs getting approval for a couple of non-league games.

While not everyone is off the ground Suffolk and Nassau Public Schools along with the CHSAA have all began league play. Even though teams won’t have their traditional schedules a big positive is that if things go well, they’re will be playoff basketball after the regular season. A couple of teams had their dream state title runs cut short in March because of the shutdown.

Long Island did get approval to start their seasons, but some programs have decided it’s not worth the risk like Academy Charter in Hempstead who has declined to participate in sports this year. The games have certainly looked different so far with extremely limited crowds, an array of steps and papers you must fill out just to get in the gym. The lack of unity is difficult as well as it seems each school has their own policy for entrance.

Due to the pandemic each team’s bench is staggered all over the sideline with players in masks and coaches separated from most of their players. One positive for players this season is that because of the lack of spectators several programs have decided to livestream their games to allow parents, college coaches and fans to watch.

According to NYSPHSAA as of February 18th every county in New York besides 4 located upstate have been approved for high-risk sports. New York City still awaits an official decision with a lot of uncertainty. Long Island programs and athletes will look to take advantage of the opportunity to play even in a shortened season.


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