Pine Bush set for football and volleyball

By Mike Zummo
Posted 3/3/21

The Pine Bush Central School District took another step forward in fully reopening its athletics program on Feb. 23 when the Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent Tim Mains’ …

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Pine Bush set for football and volleyball

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The Pine Bush Central School District took another step forward in fully reopening its athletics program on Feb. 23 when the Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent Tim Mains’ recommendation to allow high-risk Fall 2 sports to play.

The district’s high-risk sports – football and volleyball – were scheduled to begin practice Monday with the rest of the district’s Fall 2 sports. Section 9 in September postponed all Fall sports to the March 1-April 19 Fall 2 season.

Pine Bush fielded only varsity sports in the winter. In the Fall 2, the district will offer both varsity and JV sports.

Mains said the district had a successful winter season as of Feb. 23 and hadn’t had any shutdowns because of positive COVID-19 tests.

“If we have a rousing success in the Fall 2 season, for the spring, I will consider expanding that recommendation to include modified sports,” Mains said.

No new middle school students will be able to take the APP test to play up to JV and varsity for Fall 2. The only middle school athletes that can play up to JV and varsity are ones that had already done so during the 2019-20 season.

Mains said that only applies to girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming.

“We’re excited about getting out there and getting the opportunity to play,” Pine Bush football coach Jim Wright said. “We’re excited to see it happen, especially for the seniors. It wouldn’t be great if we didn’t give them some opportunity.”

There’s no opportunity for travel or club play for football, unlike volleyball, where some of the athletes have been training with the Pine Bush Volleyball Club.

However, there’s something special about suiting up for the school team.

“Everybody is just eager to get back,” Pine Bush volleyball coach Melyssa Kempner-Amelio said. “I can’t say it’s back to normalcy, but it’s leading the way back to normalcy. I think it gives them an outlet.”

During the winter season, Section 9 didn’t allow spectators in the gymnasiums and Kempner-Amelio said she expects that to go forward during the indoor volleyball season, as well.

“We were always very lucky to have a large crowd,” Kempner-Amelio said. “It will be different for them.”

The Bushmen also filled the bleachers and the area around the bleachers at Thomas Lonergan Field on Friday nights for football games, and it’s unclear at press time if spectators will be allowed during the Fall 2 season.

That’s not something Wright is worried, about.

He wasn’t even worried about whether there would be a season.

That was outside of his control.

“I’ve always been one of those people who focuses on what I can control,” Wright said. “That’s not something that was in my ability to control, so I didn’t focus on that.”

While they were waiting for clearance, football coaches didn’t do any in-person work with the team. Everything was done virtually. They would discuss plays, watch film, team building, but nothing more than that.

Even during a regular offseason, there’s about 7 or 8 weeks, where the players are on their own.

“We’re in the same boat we usually are,” Wright said. “If kids are motivated to do it on their own, they will. We don’t have much contact with them once we finish Camp of Champions.

Both teams won Section 9 Class AA championships in the Fall 2019. Right now, playoffs are the furthest thing from most of their minds.

“I think for them, they deserve something, even if there’s no playoffs,” Kempner-Amelio said. “It’s important to them.”