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Empty Bleachers: Coaching through chaos in 2020 Facing a year of uncertainty, high school coaches had one goal during 2020 — finding a way to keep their programs afloat BY JORDAN GREEN (Editor’s note): This is the second part of a series that examines the “Empty Bleachers” of high school sports during 2020 at the peak of COVID-19. This story explores how coaches navigated the chaos with no physical practices or games, all while having no answers that they could provide their players about the future. To check out the first story titled “Empty Bleachers: A series on the 2020 experience of local high school athletics,” visit heysocal.com.
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ucinda Buchan has been the head coach of the Alverno Heights Academy softball program for 13 years. Throughout her professional life, she has faced obstacles and responded with impressive strides to accomplish incredible feats. After receiving her bachelor’s degree at Ball State University in Indiana — where she was a softball star for the Cardinals — she attended UCLA and earned her master’s in secondary education. Two years later, she earned her first full-time job as the president of the Apex Plastering Company, a business that has worked as a subcontractor in construction throughout the San Gabriel Valley for 50 years. She has worked
And somehow throughout her decade-pluslong tenure as president of a highly successful company while simultaneously leading a group of young women to consistent California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) postseason appearances — not to mention being the mother of her two young children — she has had this amazing ability to remain composed. Pulling Through Covid Chaos When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, however, a difficult question lingered inside of her head for weeks: can I possibly stay composed through this? “I just had to find a way to take it all in stride,” she said. “I had a kid that needed to be home-
“Engagement for several students became extinct... Coaches needed to get creative to make it work.” for the company ever since. Yet, only four years after earning the role she became the head coach at Alverno Heights, where she has helped bring the Jaguars a level of success that the program had never experienced prior.
schooled at the time, which was already very difficult. So softball needed to take a backseat, and I didn’t get to hear or talk to the girls all that much during the hiatus. Which was hard, cause before the pandemic hit we were in the middle of a strong season. And
(Left to right) Ben Buys, head coach of the La Salle College Prep football program; Lucinda Buchan, head coach of the Alverno Heights Academy softball program; and Brad Blackmore, head coach of the Monrovia High School baseball program. | Graphic by Renia Barouni / Hey SoCal
suddenly it just stopped.” This, of course, was a universal issue. Everyone’s agenda stopped. Passions needed to be thrown out the window in order to maintain public safety. Yet, that pressure reaches an insurmountable level when there are developing teenagers wanting — and oftentimes needing — a coach’s guidance. Left Without Answers “I was just as surprised as the rest of my team when Covid hit and ended our season. And it was a situation where players were texting and calling me looking for answers, but I didn’t have any,” said Monrovia High baseball head coach Brad Blackmore, whose team only played eight games in 2020 (the regular amount
per season is roughly 25 games). The theme of not having answers persisted for nearly an entire year, and very early on people in high school athletics were essentially asked to take a test without studying. Coaches began guessing for the right answer, hoping to keep players engaged despite needing to adapt to a remote experience. Fall sports maintained a level of hope for a 2020 season during the summer. The science behind the virus was still largely unknown on the transmission of Covid and its long-lasting health effects. Sports like football and volleyball still needed to get teams prepared for a potential return in the fall of 2020. Not being able to meet on campus and use campus facilities
in July and August meant coaches needed to construct their workouts through Zoom. Engagement Challenge Engagement for several students became extinct. At-home setups for weight training made it difficult for coaches to regulate what was happening. Coaches needed to get creative to make it work. “We had four guys who played in the NFL jump onto Zoom calls to keep the kids motivated,” said La Salle College Prep football head coach Ben Buys. “The competitive nature also helped bring in some motivation. Push-up contests and sit-up contests, stuff like that. It definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to monitor.” This reality, which lasted throughout the fall semester, eventually vanished with
programs being cleared to begin training on campus again that next spring. But things still weren’t quite the same, and the answer to when teams could begin play again became even more unclear heading into 2021. Attempting to Restart Coaches were in constant communication with their school’s administrators to stay updated on what protocols the CIF would follow. While outdoor practices were permitted, the question of if a group of players can play against another group of players in a different region complicated an official return to play. What made these
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