COVID-19 Q&A with IHSA Executive Director, Craig Anderson
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| PHOTO / IHSA |
GERMANTOWN HILLS - IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson doesn't exactly have the most open schedule among the people of Illinois right now, but he was gracious enough to take time to talk on Wednesday morning.
Below is our Q&A with Anderson from Wednesday's chat.
How are you?"Yeah, well, I'm hanging in there. I get a lot of support from our (IHSA) staff. They're great to work with. We bounce a lot of ideas off of each other. At home, dealing with my sons, who are home from school, one of which wanted to play baseball this spring as a sophomore in high school. While this is stressful and making these difficult choices, I get to be home with him, and I'm also working him (son) through the disappointment of what he's facing this spring. I'm doing fine. A few sleepless nights, wondering what direction we should be taking, knowing that we're really challenged during this time. I think about, personally, the impact this has on students across our state, and recognizing that it's not just in Illinois, it's nationwide. The decisions are difficult."
Does having a student-athlete in your own home help in this decision-making process?"I think it does, under the circumstances. I get to listen to his perspective of it all. As I'm responding to parents or administrators, I think I'm able to know the perspective that they're feeling, because I'm seeing it with my own son."
How to prepare for moments like the press conference outside of Carver Arena?"That was one, that, it happened so quickly. I really had no time to prepare for it. I think about the times that we're in. Anybody now, has not experienced this in their lifetime. The times are challenging. Initially, that (press conference) was almost overwhelming, to know the steps that we were taking were unprecedented, and the impact that had. We went from the press conference that we had been anticipating, at that time of the morning, only going to be minimal with attendance until later that afternoon. We had a scheduled administrators & coaches meeting. We went straight from a conference call with our Board of Directors on the action that we, collectively, were taking heading into that room to tell those administrators and coaches. It’s definitely not something you can prepare for.”
How can an organization like the IHSA move forward through as fluid of a situation as COVID-19 is?
That’s been, probably, the most challenging part, and it’s still challenging. We’ve made some projections about summer and we’ve said that until we know what is available to us, no summer contact days. That time is really unknown. We’ve been asked, and rightfully so, what happens in the fall? That unknown of what the future holds, to me, is what makes it challenging to work in the now. The decision by the Governor made our decision necessary. Now, we’re trying to plan for and think about, especially as it pertains to the association, not only our members, but our association, our office, the financial aspect of running the association, running tournaments. That perspective makes all of this a real challenge.
On how sports are being handled at the collegiate level and what role that plays in the IHSA’s decisions:
I think so. While we leaned on the advice of healthcare professionals when we made the basketball decision, we were right on the heels of the decisions by the NCAA, the Big Ten Conference, and that activity. So much like that influence, we definitely are keeping an eye on what they are talking about, what are they anticipating. In addition to that, communicating with executive directors across the country with different ideas, thoughts about what could happen this fall.
On what kind of options AREN’T on the table:
Not at this time. We really haven’t shut anything out. We’re still leaving a little bit of hope for a timeline that would allow some competition, whatever that might look like at a time which we’re allowed to do so. Even with the spring, we’ve got some limited pushback of ‘why not just cancel it all and let’s move on from that’. The board and the staff collectively still want to provide a little bit of hope for some possible closure for the seniors in particular, of putting the uniform on, playing that senior night game. Whatever the limited number of contests might be, if they could represent their school in some fashion, finish their careers.
On the priority of making decisions with the student-athlete in mind: “I was a former coach, former administrator, progressing into this position. My son, feeling all of this the same. That really is our focus - it has to be. I’m sensitive to how difficult this can be for our student-athletes, especially sheltered at home. Definitely trying to understand the scope at which this is impacting their lives. For our student-athletes, this is such a critical time for them to have these opportunities. I talk about sleepless nights, that really is what causes them, is knowing the difficulties that we’re putting our young student-athletes under.”
On the role of modern technology in the IHSA’s dealing with COVID-19:
“It’s been a critical part. I’ve definitely become more familiar with Zoom and AnyMeeting, FaceTime-ing with others. I learned the other day how to voice record on my phone in the midst of an interview. It’s been critical in communicating not only with our staff."
Does having a student-athlete in your own home help in this decision-making process?"I think it does, under the circumstances. I get to listen to his perspective of it all. As I'm responding to parents or administrators, I think I'm able to know the perspective that they're feeling, because I'm seeing it with my own son."
How to prepare for moments like the press conference outside of Carver Arena?"That was one, that, it happened so quickly. I really had no time to prepare for it. I think about the times that we're in. Anybody now, has not experienced this in their lifetime. The times are challenging. Initially, that (press conference) was almost overwhelming, to know the steps that we were taking were unprecedented, and the impact that had. We went from the press conference that we had been anticipating, at that time of the morning, only going to be minimal with attendance until later that afternoon. We had a scheduled administrators & coaches meeting. We went straight from a conference call with our Board of Directors on the action that we, collectively, were taking heading into that room to tell those administrators and coaches. It’s definitely not something you can prepare for.”
How can an organization like the IHSA move forward through as fluid of a situation as COVID-19 is?
That’s been, probably, the most challenging part, and it’s still challenging. We’ve made some projections about summer and we’ve said that until we know what is available to us, no summer contact days. That time is really unknown. We’ve been asked, and rightfully so, what happens in the fall? That unknown of what the future holds, to me, is what makes it challenging to work in the now. The decision by the Governor made our decision necessary. Now, we’re trying to plan for and think about, especially as it pertains to the association, not only our members, but our association, our office, the financial aspect of running the association, running tournaments. That perspective makes all of this a real challenge.
On how sports are being handled at the collegiate level and what role that plays in the IHSA’s decisions:
I think so. While we leaned on the advice of healthcare professionals when we made the basketball decision, we were right on the heels of the decisions by the NCAA, the Big Ten Conference, and that activity. So much like that influence, we definitely are keeping an eye on what they are talking about, what are they anticipating. In addition to that, communicating with executive directors across the country with different ideas, thoughts about what could happen this fall.
On what kind of options AREN’T on the table:
Not at this time. We really haven’t shut anything out. We’re still leaving a little bit of hope for a timeline that would allow some competition, whatever that might look like at a time which we’re allowed to do so. Even with the spring, we’ve got some limited pushback of ‘why not just cancel it all and let’s move on from that’. The board and the staff collectively still want to provide a little bit of hope for some possible closure for the seniors in particular, of putting the uniform on, playing that senior night game. Whatever the limited number of contests might be, if they could represent their school in some fashion, finish their careers.
On the priority of making decisions with the student-athlete in mind: “I was a former coach, former administrator, progressing into this position. My son, feeling all of this the same. That really is our focus - it has to be. I’m sensitive to how difficult this can be for our student-athletes, especially sheltered at home. Definitely trying to understand the scope at which this is impacting their lives. For our student-athletes, this is such a critical time for them to have these opportunities. I talk about sleepless nights, that really is what causes them, is knowing the difficulties that we’re putting our young student-athletes under.”
On the role of modern technology in the IHSA’s dealing with COVID-19:
“It’s been a critical part. I’ve definitely become more familiar with Zoom and AnyMeeting, FaceTime-ing with others. I learned the other day how to voice record on my phone in the midst of an interview. It’s been critical in communicating not only with our staff."
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