BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The spring sports season was one for the history books for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) as the organization ended up with all classes of nine sports with a state series within a one-week timeline. In an effort to ensure that all sports had a season, even if it was a modified one, some of the traditional fall sports were moved to the spring. Adding these to the traditional spring sports created a jam-packed calendar with boys’ volleyball, boys’ baseball, girls’ softball, boys’ and girls’ track and field, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, girls’ soccer, and boys’ tennis all having a state tournament the middle of June.

Not all sports were able to conduct a state series this year as the COVID-19 guidelines were still in place that prevented medium- and high-risk sports from competing and traveling outside of their local conference. Wrestling, boys’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and girls’ volleyball all ended their seasons with a conference tournament. Cheer and dance teams were able to compete in a state tournament; however, it was done virtually with pre-recorded submissions.

“Overall, people were just so happy to have something…They just rolled with what was in place this year and were happy to do whatever we needed them to do to pull it all together,” Kurt Gibson, IHSA Associate Executive Director.

As the guidelines became more relaxed, the IHSA flexed and pivoted with the times by adding in a state series where they could. This was not an easy task. So much planning goes into a state series, from host site selection and preparation, to lining up officials, to seeding and scheduling, and more.

IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson explains, “In a typical year, as soon as the state series concludes, we start looking for the following year’s sites. As we entered into the 2020-2021 school year with uncertainty, you can imagine there was a lot to consider and a lot to pull together in a short time frame.”

Headquartered here in Bloomington, the IHSA is a small but mighty not-for-profit organization of about 22 full-time staff members working on behalf of over 800 member schools. The staff worked tirelessly to ensure the seasons would go on in accordance with the ever-changing guidelines in place. With three boys of his own, Anderson saw the effects of his own kids being sidelined from their sports. To say this year was challenging for the IHSA is an understatement as they attempted to balance the importance of having the students in motion with adhering to the safety protocols in place.

“We took the brunt of the blame in some regard that we couldn’t move forward, but we wanted the students back in sports as badly as the parents and schools wanted it. No one was more passionate about getting moving again than our staff. Sports enhance the students’ educational experience. It was incredibly troubling to be sit back and not be able to offer the full experience to the students,” Anderson recalls.

It was frustrating to see other states open and students going out of state to participate. Anderson and his staff were in constant communication with the health department and the governor’s office advocating to get these athletes back in motion in their own schools where they could ensure that safety protocols were being followed.

The coordination efforts that went into pulling so many state series together at once gave the IHSA some key takeaways and ideas for future years. “Upon reflection, there are a number of things we are looking at with the schools and administrators to see what worked and what didn’t. As we transition into the new year, we will see what sticks,” Anderson tells us. The IHSA staff conducted most of their meetings virtually, especially early in the year. Meetings with state qualifying schools were also held virtually.

In past years, the state series for each class of the various sports were spread out over a couple of weekends; this year, each class was on a day back-to-back over the same weekend. Another change this year was that the games were held at the highest seed rather than assigning the entire regional, sectional, or super sectional to one school. Digital ticketing was also implemented for safety and a “no touch” experience, which was generally successful and may be considered for future state series.

The host schools were also in charge of assigning their own officials this year to alleviate some of the workload for the IHSA as they planned other logistics of the state series on a truncated timeline. Lining up officials was a bigger task than one might think as a large number opted out this year. Veteran officials who normally would have just officiated a varsity-level game stepped up to the plate and worked the freshman and junior varsity games as well. Some multi-sport officials even found themselves bouncing between sports and working six days a week due to the sports seasons overlapping.

Anderson expressed his gratitude, but also the need for more officials, “I couldn’t be prouder of those who DID step up. We can’t have games without officials. Without them, it’s just intramural. Officials are a must.” The IHSA needs more officials in all sports. Anyone who has a sports background who is willing to give back to their community should consider officiating. Former athletes or parents of athletes whose kids are no longer at home would make great officials and it is simple to get licensed. More information about becoming an IHSA official can be found at ihsa.org/Officials/How-to-Become-a-Licensed-Official.

To say it was a crazy year for Illinois sports is an understatement, but overall it was positive attitudes and teamwork that made it all possible. “We have great people that work for us. Everyone stepped up to make sure that the state experience was fantastic for the students,” Anderson compliments. Anderson also draws special attention to the Athletic Directors. “Athletic Directors need a special callout. Many times, their efforts go unnoticed because they are working behind the scenes. I commend them for working with us and quickly pivoting to create modified seasons. They were put under tremendous stress for making new schedules, finding officials, adjusting to modifications, spectator locations and limits, and much more. They did awesome work.”

Congratulations to all of the athletes for an amazing 2021 season and a special thank you to the IHSA, the officials, athletic directors, coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves for the flexibility, patience, and understanding that all went into making it all happen in this historic year for Illinois sports.

Locally, we had a number of athletes who took home some 2021 state hardware.

Team Honors

• U-High: 3rd Place in 2A Boys’ Baseball
• Normal West: 3rd Place in 3A Track and Field

Individual Honors/State Champions

• 3A Normal West, Leslie Fisher – Triple Jump (48’1½”)
• 3A Bloomington, Liam McGill – Pole vault (15’9¾”)
• 2A U-High, Colton Naffziger – Pole Vault (16’3”)
• 1A Cornerstone Christian, Ridge Willard – Pole Vault (4.60M)
• 3A Normal Community, Ali Ince – 800M (2:07.06)
• 3A Normal Community, Ali Ince – 1600M (4:40.85)
• 3A Normal Community, Ali Ince, Abigail Ziemer, Carina Engst and Jordynn Griffin – 4×400 Relay (3:57.34)
• 3A Bloomington, Lillianna Ifft – Pole Vault (3.69M)
• 1A Central Catholic, Megan Becker – 400M (57.93)

2nd Place

• 3A Normal West, Charlie Nolan – High Jump (6’6”)
• 2A Uhigh, Jade Carthans, Naomi Elliott, Karianna Merriweather and Reese Mitchell – 4×400 Relay (49.35)

3rd Place

• 3A Normal West, Jonovan Findley, Davonte Crawford, Jamari Myer and Charlie Nolan – 4×400 Relay (42.30)
• 2A U-High, Anna Barr – 200M (25.36)

4th Place

• 3A Normal Community, Alex Sohn – Shot Put (56’9¾”)
• 2A U-High, Anna Barr – 100M (12.32)
• 1A Central Catholic, Ella Larson – Triple Jump (35’1”)

Congratulations to all of the athletes who made State appearances, including Trey Tattini from Central Catholic, who made it to State in tennis singles, but ultimately lost in his 4th round of consolation.

A quick shout out to U-High girl’s’ softball and soccer teams for a great run. Both teams finished their season just short of a State appearance after losing in super-sectionals.

Another shout out to the Normal West wrestling team, who finished their season 15-0 to secure the Big 12 Championship over Bloomington. They were unable to conduct a State tournament this year due to the guidelines in place at the time, however the coach’s association pulled together an “unofficial state tournament” in Springfield. The results won’t be recognized by the IHSA, but it was a great opportunity for the kids to participate nonetheless.

It’s so good to see the kids back competing, doing what they love, and to see fans being able to attend again to cheer them on. The camaraderie, competitiveness, and heart were all apparent this year more than ever as we were all reminded to never take the ability to compete for granted. Anderson concludes, “It is refreshing to be back in the position to see the kids compete. We look forward to a more ‘normal’ year of sports starting this fall!”

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