Students weren't at school. High school sports teams weren't on the field. Spring has been quiet in that regard.

Athletic directors? It's been business as, well, a little unusual.

“Not being able to complete a Cinderella basketball season or enable our spring athletes to compete .... That part of it is a bummer,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said.

“The plus side has been getting ahead of the game in terms of paperwork and completing schedules for next year. At this time of year, I'm usually juggling five or six things. Now it's only one or two.”

Mylan said he's in good shape with coaches' evaluations and team schedules for the 2020-21 school year.

“We've got all of our winter schedules done and we're halfway done with next spring's,” he said recently.

“I've been able to take part in a number of Zoom meetings with the WPIAL, taking online courses, taking the time to do things I would never have time for under normal circumstances.”

Seneca Valley athletic director Heather Lewis said she's had “different responsibilities” since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school athletics.

“Seneca Valley, like a lot of schools, has been delivering meals every week and I've gotten involved in that process,” Lewis said. “As far as my typical duties, I've been pretty much on schedule.”

Slippery Rock athletic director Dan Follett said he's been able to get to projects he otherwise would have tabled.

Among them have been ordering a new set of volleyball uniforms and getting the baseball dugouts painted.

“Your routine changes more than anything,” Follett said. “I'm used to being at a baseball or softball field every day after school in the spring.

“You adjust that routine and get other things done.”

Mars athletic director Scott Heinauer agreed.

“We've been trying to accelerate things, get ahead of schedule here,” Heinauer said. “I'm getting some stuff done. Doing some repairs on the field, resealing the gym now rather than waiting until summer.”

Moniteau athletic director John Stoughton also serves as secretary-treasurer of the Keystone-Shortway Athletic Conference.

He said once KSAC meetings resume, the conference's business is in good shape.

“Schedules have all been agreed upon for next year,” Stoughton said. “At the school, we spent much of the spring working on a lot of senior recognition stuff. That's kept all of us busy.”

The loss of spring sports enabled North Catholic athletic director Brian Miller to focus on summer and beyond.

“Our admissions have been going up and our (fall) sports start to get organized July 1,” Miller said. “We've got youth camps in July we're putting together,

“There are always side projects that pop up. I'm still busy, just not doing the typical things we would be if spring sports were going on.”

Future of football

All are concerned — and wondering — about the upcoming high school football season.

“We just don't know how that's going to go,” Follett admitted. “It has to be safe for kids to return to school before we can worry about any fall sport.

“As for high school football, if it can return in any form, I'm for it.”

Mylan isn't so sure.

While he said it's important for kids to be physically active, he would question playing Friday night games without people in the stands.

“The fans, the band, the environment, that's all part of it,” Mylan said. “Friday night fooball is a community event that brings people together.

“To play without a lot of people there wouldn't be a good thing.”

Heinauer said fall sports are in a “holding pattern” right now as schools are figuring out what their educational process will look like come fall.

“School is the ultimate thing, education the No. 1 priority,” he said. “Football obviously has a lot of sweat and close contact. You can't stay six feet apart when you have to block and tackle.

“Are we gonna play? Who knows? Even the pros and colleges aren't sure what's going on.”

Stoughton said: “We're going to have to accept the new norm, whatever that is. Safety of the kids is the underlying concern. I can see it going in either direction.”

So can Lewis, who is not about to guess what direction that is going to be.

“If we're at the point where kids are allowed to run into and sweat all over each other on a football field, I imagine people will be allowed to sit in the stands and watch them,” she said.

“But four months ago, I never would have guessed we'd have no spring sports and that schools would be shut down, that there would be no Major League Baseball or any pro sports going on. Yet that all happened.

“I'm not going to begin to guess what things will look like four months from now. Nobody knows,” she added.