ROCHESTER, Ill. (BVM) — Rochester High School athletics have always been strong and dominant throughout the state of Illinois and especially within the Central State Eight (CS8) Conference.

Rochester football has won 8 state titles in the last 10 years.  Girl’s golf won the state title in 2015.  Girl’s volleyball won regionals last season.  All sports have had countless All-Conference athletes.

The new normal has changed high school athletics and there are many unknowns moving towards the winter and spring.  

Rockets’ Athletic Director and head girl’s basketball coach, J.R. Bourdouris is really uncertain what is coming for all athletes at Rochester. 

“A lot of it depends on what the spread of the virus looks like,” Bourdouris said.

That is where the unknown comes from because everyday is changing, especially for sports.

All of Rochester’s fall team sports, volleyball, football and boy’s soccer, were moved to the spring.  

Bourdouris did not mind this happening.

“Some of those athletes played different sports that they had never tried before, so it gave them a new experience,” Bourdouris said.

With the movement other  fall sports like tennis, golf, and cross country got new attention from athletes and the media. This kept many athletes busy and helped them cope with the truth that they were not playing their typical fall sport.

Illinois athletes were not able to compete in a state tournament this fall.  They could compete in regionals and sectionals, but no state final took place due to the health and safety concerns per the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

“I think our athletes were grateful for the opportunity to compete, even if the post-season was abbreviated,” Bourdouris said.

Moving from fall to winter is where difficulty rises.  

Outdoor sports this fall were easier to compete in as the virus could not spread as much, but entering indoor sports could result in numerous other problems.

As health guidance changes so does sports.  

“Having teams get practice time under the current health recommendations is going to present some challenges,” Bourdouris said.

Bourdouris hopes that the virus will begin to get under control so his athletes have the chance to compete again during the winter.

“If we can get our rate of positive cases under control, and the distribution of the vaccine proceeds as planned, then perhaps there’s a chance to play an abbreviated basketball season,”Bourdouris said. “I think that the spring seasons have a better chance of happening because they’ll be outdoors.”

As the cases decrease and the virus is more under control, his job will get less difficult again.

“The biggest difficulty has been having to tell our coaches and athletes that seasons have been cancelled or postponed.”

As all things currently, time will tell with what is next for this athletic high school.

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