AS PREP ATHLETES return in a limited, highly-regulated fashion to area playing fields and courts, athletic directors such as Port Angeles’ Dwayne Johnson continue to grapple with a slippery opponent: the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crisis forces school districts to put the nuts and bolts of education first with instruction, support and the health and safety of students and staff paramount — and much more of a priority to provide when compared with prep sports.

Rightfully so.

“School comes first,” Johnson said Wednesday. “We’ve always talked about the scholar-athlete and being able to provide an education that prepares that student for the rest of their lives.”

Last week the WIAA, the association overseeing interscholastic athletics and a number of activities in our state, made the decision to delay the start of fall prep sports practices by two weeks into September, joining Arizona and West Virginia in pushing back the potential date.

The first day of football practice was pushed back from Aug. 19 to Sept. 5, while all other fall sports were pushed back from Aug. 24 to Sept. 7.

The WIAA made that decision in order to allow districts, many of which will begin fall term instruction during the first week of September like Port Angeles and Sequim, more time to prepare for the challenges of the coming school year.

More guidance from the WIAA will come next week.

“The Executive Board will review other options for fall sports should further delays become necessary, with an announcement to be made on [Wednesday],” the WIAA said in a statement.

“In the interim, a planning committee made up of Executive Board members, WIAA staff, and representatives from WIAA member schools will review possible options and make recommendations.”

In the interim, Port Angeles approved highly-regulated summer practices for its high school athletes, which doubles the first test to see if coaches and players can abide by guidelines offered by the WIAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations.

“We are following the health department and phases from the governor and allowing a ratio of five kids to one coach,” Johnson said.

“We are following the guidelines from the WIAA and NFHS within our distancing plan for boys and girls basketball.”

Feedback from the initial sessions was, well …positive.

“It was so amazing to see our kids smiling, to see them active, to see them having a purpose,” Port Angeles boys basketball coach Kasey Ulin said.

“I thought we were great tonight. I really did. All of the work leading up to tonight paid off. Every kid was screened, they all had their paperwork completed. They had their masks, they all kept a social distance, they did not touch, they did not come within 6 feet. They all entered through one set of doors and left through another. They came dressed, they did not use locker rooms or bathrooms, but guess what … it was great! We were in the gym, we were together, we heard squeaks of shoes, balls bouncing, and kids [were] working hard.”

Johnson said volleyball sessions will start on Monday and football will start summer activities Monday, delayed due to a team-wide, 14-day quarantine stemming from two athletes attending the same Fourth of July celebration in which COVID-19 was confirmed to have spread.

“We are learning a lot from our last vacation, the Fourth of July weekend,” Johnson said. “I can imagine some of the fears coming out from Thanksgiving weekend and the issues that could take place there.”

That’s why conversations are being held about uprooting the fall sports schedule and beginning a series of overlapping, end-to-end seasons in January.

The Northwest Athletic Conference, a 36-member institution that oversees community college athletics in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, moved all but cross country to a post-Jan. 1 start.

“What we are looking at in that scenario is for athletes to have the opportunity to compete,” Johnson said. “At least we would have that opportunity, where we didn’t get that chance during the spring. Some of our discussion has looked at what would be an eight-week season, an interleague schedule only and then seeding into a West Central District playoff scenario and potentially on to a state tournament.

“But we haven’t touched scheduling at all, and until we receive the updated guidance from the WIAA, we won’t.

“And we have been preparing our coaches with what has taken place in the Pac-12, Big 10 [conferences deciding to shorten schedules by not playing non-league contests].”

Johnson is a member of the WIAA’s Representative Assembly, serves on the West Central District Executive Board and is a member of the Washington State Athletic Directors’ Association.

He knows that whatever decision is made, sharp criticism will follow.

“I’ve been drafting a letter to our coaches that specifically talks about wherever we move we will be wrong and upset people,” Johnson said.

“The trust factor, the trust that we have with our student-athletes was there before the pandemic, and we have to make sure it remains with our students and parents. We will be there, moving forward with safety protocols, and we have to believe in our administrative teams.

“It’s time for leaders to lead through this pandemic. For me, it’s been a good struggle to try and stay on top of the NFHS and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ guidelines and to get that information out to coaches and players.”

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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.