'This Is My Last Chance To Get College Paid For:' Players React To CIF School Sport Delay
ANTELOPE (CBS13) — No high school sports, for now. The California Interscholastic Federation announced on Tuesday the decision to postpone practices and competition start dates until at least January 2021.
The choice was made as CIF continues to wait for guidance regarding youth sports from California.
"The stands are packed, the band is over there, you hear certain voices," Quincy Gallon said. "I hear my grandma sometimes yelling in the stands sometimes."
Gallon set foot on an empty Antelope High School field on Wednesday, reliving football memories from years' past. The cheers and the camaraderie, a part of the nostalgia one may feel when visiting an alma mater, but Gallon is still in school.
"If I was a junior, I'd say I still have next season," Gallon said. "But this is the last time I've got to show out for my fans and my family."
The high school senior is one of the thousands of players statewide still waiting for the okay to play from CIF. The organization just postponed Gallon's season start once again. With no youth sports guidelines from the state, Gallon is left in limbo.
"Everyone has aspirations of going into their senior year with a scholarship already landed so you can just play for fun," Gallon said. "But for me, this is my last chance to get college paid for."
Without fans in the stands and players on the field, recruiting gets a whole lot harder. Julian Jenkins, a Senior Director of Regional Recruiting with networking agency Next College Student Athlete, said while it may be difficult, it's not impossible.
"It's next to impossible," Jenkins said. "But they've got become their own brand, and really sell it."
For many student-athletes that means turning to social media and sending coaches videos of their practice. Gallon connects with coaches over Twitter. His feed is full of congratulations messages for friends and fellow players. Now he's just awaiting his chance, too.
"It would mean the world to me to be able to have one last ride," he said.
While COVID may be up on the scoreboard, Gallon doesn't want him or his team to be counted out yet. As the team's leader, he stays positive with the hope they'll all come out on top.
CIF said schools would be ready to start practice and playing as soon as they receive any guidelines from the state, it's just a matter of when.
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