Some winter sports a go in Lynbrook

For the first time since mid-March, Nassau County high school athletes practiced for their respective sports on Monday afternoon as the long-anticipated season for low- and moderate-risk winter sports began, despite rising Covid-19 cases.
Public high schools across Long Island are moving forward to compete in bowling, gymnastics, track and field, and swimming and diving, with events starting Jan. 11. High-risk winter sports — basketball, wrestling, hockey and cheerleading — remain on hold, and are subject to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s guidelines.
Joe Martillotti, Lynbrook’s first-year athletic director, said the district is fielding boys’ and girls’ teams for bowling and track and field, and will continue its shared boys’ swim team with South Side High School in Rockville Centre, dubbed “SouthBrook.”
“It’s been hard to get an accurate read on how many kids we’ll get, but we typically have 20 combined,” said Owls bowling coach Mike Dieguez, noting that bowling centers are limiting participants, and only six varsity bowlers will compete in matches.
Boys’ swimming and diving co-coach Jim O’Hara said that Nassau coaches met recently to discuss Covid-19 guidelines and how they could affect the season. Many club teams, he said, have been able to hold their seasons with little or no disruption because of the pandemic. “We could have some meets where the teams competing against one another are at different sites,” O’Hara said. “We’re prepared to roll with the punches.”

Lynbrook senior Cameron Redfearn, who swims the 100-yard butterfly and relays, said that team members had kept in touch via group chats and were excited about the opening day of practice. “I’m really happy the county was able to figure something out so we can have a season,” Redfearn said.
Nassau track and field schedules are being revamped after the county was notified by St. Anthony’s High School, in South Huntington, that it would not host meets in its fieldhouse. Instead, Section VIII, the governing body for Nassau high school athletics, moved to Plan B — outdoor meets at high schools with overhead field lights and officials who are willing to host.
On the state level, the start date for high-risk winter sports has been changed twice, from Nov. 16 to Nov. 30, and then to Jan. 4. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association said it would not assign another potential start date to those sports until it receives authorization from Cuomo’s office. “Bottom line is, high-risk sports are at the governor’s discretion,” Martillotti said.
“As the [Covid-19 infection] numbers continue to increase all across the state, those high-risk sports activities remain on hold until we see a decline, and that’s not happening,” state Budget Director Robert Mujica said at a news conference on Dec. 11.
Lynbrook boys’ basketball coach Jamie Adams said he didn’t know whether there would be a season this year. “I’m optimistic our school district will do everything it possibly can to make a season happen,” Adams said, “but I’m definitely concerned with basketball being postponed indefinitely.”