CHICO, Calif. -- Some of the largest high schools in our area postponed multiple sports to next year.
Many student-athletes in our area play more than one sport, or in the case of Pleasant Valley’s Ian Guanzon, three.
Sports revolves around Guanzon's life.
Whether it's tossing dimes on the football field, crushing baseballs on the diamond, or working on his jump shot on the court.
Now, because of the coronavirus, this viking is at a crossroad.
Guanzon’s baseball and basketball season might have a schedule conflict.
“I realized I was going to have to choose between basketball and baseball,” said Guanzon.
For this PV upperclassman, it's a tough decision, at an even tougher time.
“It's a huge year. If I make all three sports, I'm going to be on varsity, but I'll also have harder classes,” said Guanzon.
He added, “I love all sports… if I had to, I'd do all three, but I know I can't.
Which could be detrimental to Guanzon's potential college recruiting options.
Luckily, there's optimism between players and school district administration in finding any possible solution.
Guanzon says, “it's better to have all sports in one season than trying to force all fall sports to the fall season and then there being an outbreak and making it get even worse. It's going to be kind of weird playing in the second semester, but it's going to be just as fun as it would be in the first semester.”
With football expected to start in the winter, it might be a little chilly.
“People are going to have to wrap up for the games. It's going to be cold, but I think it's going to be okay,” Guanzon.
Chico Unified School District Director of Secondary Education John Shepherd says, “There is some planning in place to be sure we can accommodate those kids that want to play just so they don't have to choose.”
The largest schools in Shasta, Tehama, and Butte County play in the Eastern Athletic League. The EAL is the first of nine leagues in our area to change the schedules for some of its sports.
The CIF Northern Section, which governs all high school athletics in our region, will be meeting in September to reevaluate the coronavirus status across the north state.