Here’s what NC high school basketball players think about wearing masks during games
BY STEVE LYTTLE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 03, 2020 11:44 AM,
Wesleyan Christian School forward Luke Grace took a pass from a teammate Tuesday evening and drove to the basket, only to be fouled by Charlotte Country Day forward Russell Tabor.
Moments later, Grace went to the foul line and calmly sank both shots.
It was the start of a high school basketball game — like thousands of games across the country. But this time, there was a difference.
Grace was wearing a face mask. So was Tabor. In fact, so was every other player on the floor at Charlotte Country Day’s gym, along with the reserves, coaches and the small group of widely scattered spectators.
“It definitely felt a little weird,” Charlotte Country Day senior guard Jimmy Mitchell said of the mask.
For the time being, Mitchell and every other youth sports athlete competing indoors in North Carolina — except swimmers — are required to wear a mask. That mandate, aimed at dealing with a rising number of COVID-19 cases, is from Gov. Roy Cooper and went into effect last week.
But most teams were off during the holiday weekend and first faced the new rule this week.
In basketball, only private school athletes are affected now, because the N.C. High School Athletic Association isn’t scheduled to start basketball until early January.
David Carrier is the new head boys’ basketball coach at Charlotte Country Day, but he’s no rookie. Carrier has won 434 games in 25 seasons, including a pair of state championship squads at Providence Day.
He says athletes can handle the mask mandate.
“Kids are resilient,” says Carrier, whose initial outing with the Buccaneers resulted in a 77-63 loss Tuesday night. “Kids adjust to things like this a lot quicker than adults.”
Carrier said his team practiced for a few days with the masks, and he believes both teams played what was a relatively “normal” game Tuesday night.
“Once we got started, it felt normal,” he says.
Mitchell says wearing the mask “was not quite as hard as I expected.”
Cameron Ray, a fellow senior point guard on the team, says it was “tough to get your air at first.” But, he says, “it’s definitely something we can get used to.”
The mask mandate for indoor athletes does not apply to college or professional sports. Cooper says he made the decision to help keep a lid on the COVID-19 problem.
One Charlotte-area school has rescheduled or canceled games involving its teams in order to comply with the mask mandate.
Ron Johnson, boys’ basketball coach and athletics director at Davidson Day School, says the Patriots’ boys’ team has canceled games scheduled for Dec. 21 and 23 in Rock Hill. South Carolina regulations do not require masks to be worn by athletes in competition, and the state permits larger indoor gatherings than in North Carolina.
In addition, Johnson said, the Davidson Day-Cannon School giris’ game, which had been scheduled in Spartanburg on Saturday as part of the Diamond Classic, has been moved to Cannon School, with a 3 p.m. Saturday tipoff.
In an email to the director of the Dec. 21-23 tournament in Rock Hill, Johnson said, “After meeting with our Davidson Day School COVID Athletics Group yesterday, going forward our student-athletes will only play in venues that are following current North Carolina Masking and Mass Gathering regulations.”
The biggest challenge playing with masks Carrier says, is communication.
“This is a sport where it’s important to communicate with one another,” he says. “I want to be able to communicate with my players, and they need to communicate with each other to adjust to what’s happening on the court. The masks get in the way of that.”
As a longtime coach, Carrier says COVID-19 has also caused a bigger problem for him.
“I’m an emotional guy,” he says. “I miss being able to run up and give my players a hug. I really miss that.”
He then laughed, saying the team’s lack of practice time (due to COVID-19 contact tracing and a late football season) was his real concern Tuesday.
The Buccaneers and North Carolina’s other basketball teams will continue with the masks, for the time being.
And comfort is a sacrifice teams are OK making.
“It helps us stay on the court and keep playing,” he says. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
BY STEVE LYTTLE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 03, 2020 11:44 AM,
Wesleyan Christian School forward Luke Grace took a pass from a teammate Tuesday evening and drove to the basket, only to be fouled by Charlotte Country Day forward Russell Tabor.
Moments later, Grace went to the foul line and calmly sank both shots.
It was the start of a high school basketball game — like thousands of games across the country. But this time, there was a difference.
Grace was wearing a face mask. So was Tabor. In fact, so was every other player on the floor at Charlotte Country Day’s gym, along with the reserves, coaches and the small group of widely scattered spectators.
“It definitely felt a little weird,” Charlotte Country Day senior guard Jimmy Mitchell said of the mask.
For the time being, Mitchell and every other youth sports athlete competing indoors in North Carolina — except swimmers — are required to wear a mask. That mandate, aimed at dealing with a rising number of COVID-19 cases, is from Gov. Roy Cooper and went into effect last week.
But most teams were off during the holiday weekend and first faced the new rule this week.
In basketball, only private school athletes are affected now, because the N.C. High School Athletic Association isn’t scheduled to start basketball until early January.
David Carrier is the new head boys’ basketball coach at Charlotte Country Day, but he’s no rookie. Carrier has won 434 games in 25 seasons, including a pair of state championship squads at Providence Day.
He says athletes can handle the mask mandate.
“Kids are resilient,” says Carrier, whose initial outing with the Buccaneers resulted in a 77-63 loss Tuesday night. “Kids adjust to things like this a lot quicker than adults.”
Carrier said his team practiced for a few days with the masks, and he believes both teams played what was a relatively “normal” game Tuesday night.
“Once we got started, it felt normal,” he says.
Mitchell says wearing the mask “was not quite as hard as I expected.”
Cameron Ray, a fellow senior point guard on the team, says it was “tough to get your air at first.” But, he says, “it’s definitely something we can get used to.”
The mask mandate for indoor athletes does not apply to college or professional sports. Cooper says he made the decision to help keep a lid on the COVID-19 problem.
One Charlotte-area school has rescheduled or canceled games involving its teams in order to comply with the mask mandate.
Ron Johnson, boys’ basketball coach and athletics director at Davidson Day School, says the Patriots’ boys’ team has canceled games scheduled for Dec. 21 and 23 in Rock Hill. South Carolina regulations do not require masks to be worn by athletes in competition, and the state permits larger indoor gatherings than in North Carolina.
In addition, Johnson said, the Davidson Day-Cannon School giris’ game, which had been scheduled in Spartanburg on Saturday as part of the Diamond Classic, has been moved to Cannon School, with a 3 p.m. Saturday tipoff.
In an email to the director of the Dec. 21-23 tournament in Rock Hill, Johnson said, “After meeting with our Davidson Day School COVID Athletics Group yesterday, going forward our student-athletes will only play in venues that are following current North Carolina Masking and Mass Gathering regulations.”
The biggest challenge playing with masks Carrier says, is communication.
“This is a sport where it’s important to communicate with one another,” he says. “I want to be able to communicate with my players, and they need to communicate with each other to adjust to what’s happening on the court. The masks get in the way of that.”
As a longtime coach, Carrier says COVID-19 has also caused a bigger problem for him.
“I’m an emotional guy,” he says. “I miss being able to run up and give my players a hug. I really miss that.”
He then laughed, saying the team’s lack of practice time (due to COVID-19 contact tracing and a late football season) was his real concern Tuesday.
The Buccaneers and North Carolina’s other basketball teams will continue with the masks, for the time being.
And comfort is a sacrifice teams are OK making.
“It helps us stay on the court and keep playing,” he says. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
