Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

For most of the sports world, the final normal day of 2020 before the onset of COVID-19 closures was March 13, the second Friday of that month.

The curtain fell a week earlier at Penn Wood. The last organized varsity sports event in the district, Penn Wood boys basketball’s loss to Archbishop Ryan in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament, is now more than 10 months in the past. It preceded the near-global cancellation of the spring sports season throughout Pennsylvania and the Del Val League’s unique decision to push its fall competition to the spring.

That massive hiatus has created a profound challenge for winter coaches like Matt Lindeman, the Patriots’ boys basketball coach, just to get everyone on the same page and back in the gym for a season.

“It’s a huge challenge,” Lindeman said this week. “This season, it’s going to all be about giving the kids an outlet to get their mind off everything they’ve gone through. Results are going to be secondary. It’s going to be about giving our kids a chance to play.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Mike Mayer, Webmaster

As we enter the new year we are preparing our web pages for the abbreviated and challenging 2021 high school basketball season.  We have posted the schedules for the teams and leagues we have on our Schedule page.

As in earlier high school sport events, attendance by fans is limited to parents only. We have not confirmed that for every high school so please check with your specific Athletic Director for ticket availability.

Due to attendance restrictions we have suspended our Game-of-the-Week broadcasts. However, most schools will be video streaming their home games.  We will post streaming links on our Delaware Cty Schools page.  Simply click on the school logo on the far left and, if we have the page link, it will take you directly to the school broadcast site.  We only have the link for Strath Haven currently so please send us your school video links to be included.

We have been asked by Chichester High School to lend our broadcasters for their January 19th game against Penn Wood.  Our broadcasters will add their voices to the school’s video production.  If other schools are interested in a similar arrangement please contact us at delcohoops@aol.com.

By David Mekeel

On Thursday, a day where the state reported 11,972 new COVID-19 cases, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a series of new statewide restrictions aimed at stemming the rising tide of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The new restrictions will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and last until 8 a.m. Jan. 4. They include:

• A suspension of all school extracurricular activities, including sports. Collegiate and professional sports are exempt.
• Limiting indoor gatherings to no more than 10 people. Religious services are exempt.
• Limiting outdoor gatherings to no more than 50 people.
• A suspension of indoor dining.
• A shutdown of entertainment venues including concert venues, theaters, movie theaters, casinos, bowling alleys and private clubs.
• A shutdown of gyms and fitness centers.
• All businesses that serve the public, such as retail stores, are capped at 50% capacity.

Webmaster’s note:  This article is edited from the full article available by clicking on this link.

By Mitchell Gladstone

Tom Durant has had plenty of time to wait — nearly 300 days, in fact, since his West Chester East team last played a game.

It was a finish to the season that nobody truly could’ve anticipated. 

Sure, the uncertainty of COVID had started to creep in, but the Vikings had their minds on a Class 5A state title after comfortably taking home a District 1 crown just a few weeks earlier.

The final moment of their campaign indeed was a celebratory one — just that of a Tym Richardson buzzer-beater in the second round. That March 10 night marked their final game before the rest of the state tournament, along with East’s season, was ultimately abandoned.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

As some schools pause winter sports competition until after the New Year, the PIAA is moving forward, in spite of a call from the Pennsylvania Principals Association (PPA) to delay the season until Feb. 1.

PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi said Wednesday that any postponements to the winter sports season will have to come from Gov. Tom Wolf, the Department of Education or the Department of Health; otherwise, the season is on schedule to begin Friday.

But winter sports are not beginning on time in Delco. Due to the rise in coronavirus cases and deaths, the Delaware County Council recently imposed stricter restrictions to limit indoor gatherings to 10 people for out-of-classroom activities and events. The order is in effect until Jan. 2. Several leagues in the area, including the Del Val and Central, are aiming to start their regular seasons by the middle of January.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Terry Toohey

Normally, the wrestling room at Garnet Valley would be buzzing at this time of year. Head coach Rocco Fantazzi would have about 30 wrestlers working out with the scheduled start of the season less than a week away.

However, with restrictions imposed by Delaware County Council on indoor gatherings limiting them to 10 people, Fantazzi can only have nine wrestlers and one coach in the room at any one time. Like their counterparts in the fall, then, coaches and athletes of winter sports teams in this county are playing a waiting game due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Wrestling is going,” Fantazzi said. “I think us and Penncrest are the only teams going, practicing in groups of nine, having some sort of practice. If you want to call it practice. It’s not a traditional practice.”

Last month, Gov. Tom Wolf, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, announced limits on indoor events based on the capacity of the facility. If a venue holds 0-2,000 people a maximum of 10 percent of that capacity (200 people) are allowed to be part of an event. If occupancy is 2,001-10,000 the limit is lowered to five percent, or a maximum of 500 people.

(click on this link for the full story)

Webmaster’s note: For a quick synopsis of league play throughout Delco please go to our Schedule page.