CCS not waiting, implements contingency plan

The CCS Open Division boys’ water polo championship match between No. 1 Sacred Heart Prep and No. 2 Bellarmine, which was postponed to Thursday morning, was canceled early Thursday morning, with no makeup date scheduled.

“I think what will happen, CCS will determine (if the game will be played) after the Nor Cal tournament,” said Frank Rodriguez, SHP assistant principal-athletics, noting that SHP will be off next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Northern California polo championships are scheduled to begin Friday in Clovis. Both finalist made the Nor Cal Division I tournament, along with Menlo School. But Rodriguez noted the air quality in Clovis was in the 130 “orange” range Thursday.

The CCS cross country championships, which were first postponed last Saturday to this Saturday, will now move to Toro Park in Salinas Sunday morning.

“This has been so unpredictable,” said Jorge Chen, Menlo School cross country coach, who like all his coaching colleagues has struggled to maintain any kind of training schedule.

“[Thursday was] probably the worst day of the last week and a half. Three days ago, the pattern was, in the morning, the weather was decent. So we went to work out (Thursday) morning, but no.”

Unlike nearly every other sport where the delays are just a matter of time, cross country athletes are finely tuned to be running their best when the races matter the most — the postseason. Runners spend most of the year, in general, and the last couple weeks of the regular season, in particular, to be peaking for the playoffs.

Everyone was fine for the various league championships that were held the first weekend of November, but now it’s been two weeks since anyone has run a race. Carlmont head coach John Lilygren hopes his team will actually be rested and primed for big performances.

“I’m hoping (the time off) will actually be a benefit. … At this point, they’ve already put in the long miles. … You just wanted to be rested and be fresh,” Lilygren said. “Last year when we had the fires up in wine country, we missed about a week and a half (of training). My boys were so amped for their next race, they all ran PRs at Crystal (Springs course).

“Just having the time off, they may actually be fresher. At least that’s what I’m trying to play mentally.”

Both Chen and Lilygren said they have had to get creative with getting some kind of training for their runners. Lilygren said they were given discounted, three-day passes to a local gym and has had some of his runners on treadmills. Chen has used some treadmill work, but mostly is working on strength and core training.

“We just do what we can do,” Chen said. “Everyone is pretty much in the same boat. I told my kids, ‘Hang in there. Be open to changes, last-minute changes.’ Everyone is antsy.”

Lilygren said when it comes time for big meets, most last-minute preparation is mental. He tries to keep his runners calm and focused on the task at hand and then lets their training take over. Having the race moved to a different course at the last minute only adds to the anxiety.

“When you get to a big meet like CCS, part of (the goal) is not panicking. Not going out too fast. You have to run your own race,” Lilygren said. “I’m emphasizing just sticking to a plan. But now it’s a matter what’s the strategy for Toro and trying to execute that.”