High school athletes throughout the state of Idaho received another punch to the gut Monday, as the Idaho State Board of Education, in consultation with the health department and Gov. Brad Little’s office, mandated a “soft closure” of all K-12 facilities through April 20 because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

What this means for interscholastic sports is any games, practices or coordinated activities through school districts are not allowed through this date. Student-athletes may practice on their own, and the Centers for Disease Control suggests that social distancing is preferred to help bend the curve and attempt to bring the outbreak under control.

As of Monday, more than 370,000 people worldwide had been stricken with COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, and the death toll is north of 16,000, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. More than 1.5 billion people, or one-fifth of the world’s population, have been told to shelter in place, including those residents in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. A handful of other states are set to put stay-at-home orders in place today, and yet more have ordered nonessential businesses to close.

The Idaho High School Activities Association previously had canceled all activities through April 5. But this new mandate by the state means that date has been pushed out 15 more days.

Director of athletics at Genesee High School, Kelly Caldwell, said the move was the right call.

“I think it’s great that the state board, department and the governor are working together on this,” he said. “We can’t control what we can’t control. We’re going to move forward with this and do what we can.”

The IHSAA conducted an already scheduled meeting with its board of directors around 9 a.m. Pacific on Monday to discuss ways to move forward with this situation, along with other business. But seven hours later, those in control of the state health and education departments threw a bit of a wrench into some of those plans.

IHSAA executive director Ty Jones, in a phone interview with the Tribune, said the board of directors already had planned to meet seven days from now. This item now will go to the top of the list of things that will be discussed.

He admitted the timeline for conducting spring sports to its completion, which includes state championships scheduled for May 14-16, was getting close to the point of no return.

“I can’t honestly tell you anything yet,” Jones said. “We’re honestly hoping (those championships don’t get canceled). But things don’t look good. We’re going to do everything that we can within reason to try to have activities this spring.”

Lewiston athletic director Corey Williams, while also trying to stay positive, agreed with Jones.

“It does get to that point (of no return),” said Williams, who first heard the news from the Tribune. “I haven’t seen anything from the IHSAA or anything from my fellow ADs (yet). My guess is (the added-on time frame is) just distance to gather more information.

“(The decision to delay further) certainly (is) not for me to say yay or nay (to). That’s not for me to decide. It is disappointing the further we get pushed out. We’re going to have some kids and coaches that might be disappointed. But we’re trying to look at this situation in the bigger picture.”

What Caldwell, and most other administrators are trying to do, is to stay positive in a situation that is no one’s doing.

But admittingly there are concerns. Chief among are whether student-athletes are staying in shape while their seasons are in limbo.

Caldwell gave an example of a pitcher in baseball maybe not possibly having his arm in shape right now considering the layoff. Or a sprinter in track able to get up to speed quickly.

But the coaches and administrators are doing the best they can, staying within IHSAA guidelines, to make sure the kids continue to focus on preparing for a possible start of activities.

“We want them to stay active and if that’s something that’s sports-specific, then (they need to) do the best they can under the circumstances,” Caldwell said. “They need to do that to deal with stress, anxiety and overall health.”

Williams agreed.

“Our coaches are trying to stay in contact with the kids. But it’s hard because you can’t promote getting the kids together. The biggest thing we can do is check on the kids socially, emotionally and just make that kind of connection.

“It’s just doing the best you can with what you got. We’re dealing with unknowns. With adversity comes strength. As a district and an athletic department, hopefully we will come out of this stronger. But it’s just going to come down to everyone being resilient.”

Caldwell also stressed it’s how the adults are acting right now that could impact how the kids will act.

“We have an opportunity,” he said. “We can set an example for these kids. Whether (the situation is) fair or not. We can be role models and show how we can respond appropriately. You can dwell on things or you can try to make the best of it. And we’re just going to try to make the best of it.”

Jones admitted this is a situation no one dreamed would have ever taken place and certainly not something the IHSAA planned for, nor had any of his fellow administrators of high school athletics throughout the region. At least in Idaho, planning for something like this in the future certainly now is on the table.

He also sought to reassure those who might think the original decision, made just eight days ago, wasn’t done in haste.

“I think deep down inside people do understand, but I think it’s a tough concept for some to grasp because it’s not something we’ve ever had to deal with,” said Jones, explaining that people might look outside their window, see good weather and wonder why the athletes aren’t participating. “I think people do understand but they’re trying to be hopeful, and so are we. We just don’t want to put these kids in any danger. That’s not what educators do.”

Walden may be reached at (208) 848-2258, dwalden@lmtribune.com, or on Twitter at @waldo9939.