The IHSA announced on July 29, that all high school football, boy’s soccer and girl’s volleyball seasons have been postponed due to Coronavirus concerns. These sports have been moved to the Spring from February 15 to May 1.
“I think I was initially shocked by the Spring Sports cancellations but I had time to internalize local sports being cancelled, so when I heard about football being moved I had been mentally prepared to face such a scenario,” assistant football coach Luke Miller said.

When Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the plan in one of his COVID-19 press conferences, he said the sports were split up into three categories: low, medium, and high. Football, boy’s soccer and girl’s volleyball were all classified as “high risk” and therefore  got pushed back to the Spring.

This decision came weeks after a big outbreak of cases at Lake Zurich High School- most of them being athletes. ABC7 Chicago reported that 73 people were infected due to Independence Day parties. 

When asked about his opinion on whether it was the right decision, Miller said he was “torn” because of his job as an “educator and coach”. 

This decision came as no surprise to some, including high school football players. “We kind of expected this to happen eventually because of all of the strict policies Illinois has, unlike other states” senior linebacker David Katalinich said. “I’m just happy we get to have our season in the Spring.”

Illinois is one of the three states in the Midwest canceling fall football joining Michigan and Minnesota.

This plan does not affect professional or collegiate sports. This means teams like the Chicago Bears and the Illinois Fighting Illini can play if their conference/league allows them.

Most “normal” Spring sports have been moved to a Summer season starting May 3rd.