By: Brandon Teela
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has been under immense pressure to make the correct decisions leading up to the upcoming seasons. Many changes and schedule changes have been put into action since the beginning of the pandemic.
High school athletes and parents in California received news of a major CIF rule change put into effect for at least the 2020-2021 season. Athletes in California are now allowed to play on travel, AAU, or any club team outside of their team on the high school stage with the statement coming from CIF saying:
“Given this calendar change, the CIF has temporarily suspended Bylaws 600-605 (Outside Competition) in all sports for the 2020-21 school year (see below for more specific information related to these changes).”
Click Here for the official statement on the rule change.
This change immediately offers a new hope for athletes all around California, especially those upperclassmen trying to get that exposure to make it to the next level during their last few years.
baseball player Silas Beltran, ’23 explains the new found benefits from this rule change. Beltran says, “I have more opportunity to show out. I get more time to go to showcases and to have more colleges look at me.” Lots of players depend on their travel teams in order to reach the eyes of coaches that don’t often make it to regular highschool games.
Beltran explains that the exposure factor is what really makes the difference between highschool and travel ball, he says, “school ball lets you leave behind a legacy, like a valley or state championship.” He says he is very grateful for the opportunity to get to play with his close friends, but also workout with colleges and play in showcases without it inflicting on his Redwood eligibility.
Other sports have not been so lucky.
Sydney Somavia, ‘21, explains that though she is grateful for the opportunity to be able to play both. It is bittersweet because soccer is much more restricted compared to basketball and baseball during the covid era.
Somavia says, “All colleges can do is email us and watch our film. We can’t be seen playing anywhere, and if you do get caught playing you get suspended, so recruiting got put on pause for more than 7 months.”
Soccer players have essentially been cut off of opportunity for months now due to covid, so once things begin to open up, Somavia says that this rule change will undoubtedly have a very positive effect on them. She says, “Because our time has been cut so short, if we get our season up and going, the ability to play both highschool and travel will give us both the exposure we need to make it to the next level, without sacrificing our highschool experience.”
Another up and coming baseball player from Redwood Highschool, Joey Volchko, ‘23, expresses his excitement of this new rule change. Volchko says, “My schedule will be more full for sure, once both programs get going hopefully I can maximize them together to get the most out of it.”
Volchko explains that though Covid-19 has limited their practices by shutting down facilities and cancelling all official tournaments, he is excited to get as much experience as possible saying, “I’m getting more work in, and a lot more experience in a shorter amount of time, which will ultimately help me get better as my career progresses.”
Volchko, along with Beltran and Somavia, hopes to be able to play in showcases and tournaments year round, while also bringing a valley championship to Redwood along with their teammates.
Brandon Teela
Brandon, '21, is a senior and this is his fourth year under the Redwood Gigantea name. He has a love for sports journalism. Outside of journalism Brandon participates on the Redwood basketball team and would love to find a journey under sports journalism after high school.
Tags: Baseball, CIF, girls soccer, Redwood, redwood baseball, soccer
I think Brandon did a good job of setting this up and pulling me in to read it. I like how he told about the changes in the beginning of the article, and even included some words from the board. Also I liked that he interviewed athletes and got their point of view. In my opinion he should’ve interview 3 seniors instead of 1 senior and 2 sophomores. Although this news is for all athletes I think the seniors are the ones most affected.