Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride to the end of the high school sports year in San Mateo County

A look at the various schedules the Sports Lounge has to keep tabs on shows just how un-normal the schedule is about to become. The cross country, and girls’ tennis and golf teams in the Peninsula Athletic League are starting to wind down, while tennis and golf are just starting in the West Bay Athletic League.

Meanwhile, the West Catholic Athletic League, boys’ water polo season begins this week, while PAL polo is still a month away.

Now, these sports in the various leagues can essentially start whenever they like since there will be no section, regional or state playoffs in those sports that comprise the “Season 1” designation set forth by the California Interscholastic Federation, so leagues and schools are simply trying to fit them in wherever they can.

That goes for football and volleyball as well.

The spring sports season, however, may be a different animal. The playoffs for baseball, softball, boys’ golf and tennis, and track and field are still currently on the table — although we’ve seen over the last year how quickly things can change.

But because those sports are “in season” their schedules will look a little more normal, except for being a little more shorter than normal.

But just to add to the confusion, winter sports — basketball, soccer and wrestling — are in Season 2 as well. The Central Coast Section has a basketball start date of March 29, with the CCS championship games slated for June 12. Will the season start on time? Who knows? That’s a little more than three weeks away, but if we’ve found out anything, it’s that these player and teams can ramp up their activity rather quickly. So don’t be surprised to see Week 3 of the football season coincide with the tip-off of the basketball season.

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The Peninsula lost a pair of accomplished college coaches over the last week or so with the passing of Silvano “Sil” Vial and Richard Donner.

Vial started the Cañada College men’s soccer program and served as the first head coach from 1969 to 1982. Vial started his Colts career with a bang, winning back-to-back state titles in 1969 and 1970. The program added a third state championship in 1972. During his 13-year career, Vial’s team won eight conference titles, five Northern California crowns and appeared in four state championship games. Five of his former players went on to represent the United States in international competition — two appeared in the Olympics and three others played in the Pan Am Games.

He was inducted into the Cañada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

Vial started his athletic career as a three-sport star at Serra and went on to play quarterback at University of Idaho from 1958 to 1960, being named a team captain and leading the Vandals in total yardage in 1960.

Vial continued his athletic endeavors as a fitness trainer, creating the Gym Tone fitness bar and was co-founder of the Fitness for Life Institute at Cañada.

Donner put together quite the resume as College of San Mateo water polo and swim coach. Joining the CSM faculty in 1963, Donner led the CSM men’s water polo program to a record of 306-110 in 16 seasons. The Bulldogs won six Golden Gate Conference championships, made 12 appearances in the state tournament in his first 13 season and garnered two state runner-up finishes.

Donner was also a standout on the international level, leading Team USA to gold medals in the Maccabiah Games in 1969 and 1973.

Donner’s swim teams were equally prolific as the Bulldogs went 90-12 in dual meets. The team qualified for the state championship meet every season during his tenure, finishing as high as third place.

Donner spent 38 years as a coach and teacher at CSM and was inducted into the CSM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. He is also a member of the Sequoia High School, San Jose State and Olympic Club halls of fame.

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A lot was made over the weekend when PGA Tour golf professional Bryson DeChambeau drove the lake on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill Country Club during the Arnold Palmer Invitational this past weekend.

Notice I said “drove the lake” and not “drove the green” because while he did carry the lake with his tee shot in the third and fourth rounds, neither of them found the green.

DeChambeau needed to hit his driver 340 yards to carry the lake and he did that easily — piping one drive an eye-popping 370 yards. But both times he left himself with second-shot wedges from the rough and still only managed to birdie the hole each time.

You know who also birdied the sixth hole? A lot of players. There were 146 birdies on the sixth over the weekend — the second-most of any hole on the course. There were six eagles — none by DeChambeau.

To see a pro drive the ball nearly 400 yards during a competitive round is amazing. But if you’re not really gaining any strokes, what’s the point? Twice he had to use a wedge from deep rough inside 100 yards. Each time DeChambeau made a mess of it and twice “settled” for birdie.

His quest for distance and the work he put into accomplishing that is impressive, but he had won six tournaments prior to his transformation and for all the hoopla surrounding his drives, he only won the tournament by a stroke over a 47-year-old Lee Westwood. Which just goes to prove there is more than one way to move around a course.