Big changes, bigger happiness

 

Color Mullen softball coach Dave Atencio as upbeat upon learning his Mustangs mostly will play during a regular time of their season.

The long-awaited decision to continue high-school sports that was released Tuesday included radical changes for the 2020-21 school year because of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but softball is one of four sports that will adhere to its traditional early fall time.

“No. 1,” Atencio said, “I’m 100 percent glad we’re playing. No. 2, I’m glad that we didn’t have to move it to the spring; then we would be competing with club (play). And No. 3, these girls have worked hard to keep playing and there was no guarantee we would have had all of them back (if it was moved to spring).”

In addition to softball, which will open practice on Monday (Aug. 10), boys tennis also will begin that day and cross country on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Boys golf began on Aug. 3 in the first of four time periods serving as seasons.

While there will be a dead period of sorts from mid-October to early January, the big switches involve late starts for basketball ((Jan. 4) and football (Feb. 26) as well as late endings for traditional spring sports such as baseball (June 26).

Even with a schedule change that limits softball to 16 games in the regular season as well as the Centennial League’s decision on Tuesday to keep its group with league-only matchups – Mullen is Class 4A, so it will be taking on a 5A-only schedule – Atencio remains undaunted.

“We’re going to get to play,” he said.