Will C. Wood High School senior Kobe Rolling’s goal is to play Division I college soccer and baseball.
That’s a lofty goal, but it became even more challenging when, due to COVID-19, the California Interscholastic Federation compressed all high school sports in the 2020-21 season between late December and the end of the school term.
That means that soccer and baseball will converge in 2021. Baseball practice begins March 8 with the last league game on June 3. Soccer practice kicks off on Feb. 22, and the last league contest is May 14.
With the two sports virtually coinciding, which one will Rolling choose?
Both.
“The CIF is allowing the kids to play (both) just because it’s a different time right now,” said Wood Athletic Director Andrea Daniels. “They’re allowed to play overlapping or the same season. Kobe can go on Monday to a soccer game and then Tuesday to a baseball game.”
CIF limits the combined total time in multiple sports to 18 hours a week. Competitions count as three hours.
“The athletic directors did a good job of organizing so there weren’t any sports overlapping the same days, as best they could,” Daniels said. “For example, if boys soccer is Wednesday and Friday, then boys baseball is Tuesday and Thursday. If you did have a kid playing both sports, they, unfortunately, don’t get as much practice time, but they are still able to go to the games. Say they go to soccer practice an hour and a half and baseball or softball practice is still going, they can go there.”
Daniels noted that coaches are not generally able to coordinate practice times. Softball and baseball practices have to take place right after school because the fields don’t have lights. Soccer and track share the same field.
“We only have so many facilities and so much time,” she said.
Rolling and his coaches plan to make it work, even if games from his two sports do fall on the same day.
“Coach (Nick) Voight (baseball) and coach Chavez (Jorge Ruiz-Chavez, soccer) allowed me to play both sports this year and I’m very fortunate,” said the second baseman and midfielder. “Say I have a baseball game at 4:30 on a Monday and a soccer game at 7:30. If we’re winning by a lot, coach Voight will probably let me leave the game for the soccer game. If we’re down and I have to help the team win, then I might as well stay at the baseball game and tell coach Chavez that I will be late but I will be prepared to play. Both coaches are on board with that.”
Rolling and his twin sister, Kylie, started playing soccer at age 4 and were on the same team until they were 8 when they split into girls and boys teams. Kylie plays for Wood’s girls soccer team, and both she and Kobe were named the offensive players of the year in the Monticello Empire League last season. Both were also first-team MEL selections.
They also play on Northern California’s Olympic Development program, coached by Ruiz-Chavez. Out of 240 who try out, only 45 make it. The selected student-athletes play a tournament in Arizona and one in Oregon.
“We get evaluated by scouts who select us to go to the regional pool to try to make the national team,” Rolling said.
In his five years in the program, he has made it to the regional pool twice. This will be his fourth year starting on the Wildcat varsity. He was co-captain as a junior and helped lead his team to the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III tournament last season, the furthest a Wood boys soccer team has ever made it in the playoffs.
Because the soccer season was extended by the playoffs, Rolling missed several baseball games before rejoining the team and only got to play in two games before COVID-19 shut down the season. He has started on the baseball squad since his freshman year.
Rolling plays both sports pretty much year-round, as he plays club baseball with the Admirals of Vacaville and soccer with Davis Legacy.
In a traditional sports season, high school athletes are not allowed to play club during the school season of any particular sport. But for this COVID year, the CIF is allowing students to play them concurrently.
“For example, soccer and volleyball, we’re now going into their club season,” Daniels explained. “Whereas usually we might have tournaments on the weekend, we have to cut all that stuff out so they can go to their club. So it’s balancing all of that. We’re still allowed the same number of games, but it’s going to be hard to get them in because we’re not going to take a club game away from any of them.”
What will it be like for Rolling to be using his differing baseball and soccer skill sets in the same season, sometimes even on the same day?
“I’m already kind of used to it because I do double days (training) every day now and I’ve been doing it from a young age where it’s just repetition for me,” he said. “I feel like if I’m training and doing both and applying myself I should do fine.”
He has club baseball practice in the afternoon and club soccer at night. So after baseball practice, he grabs his gear and heads immediately to soccer practice.
When does he find time to study?
“Fortunately this year I only have three classes per semester,” he said, “so I feel like it’s a blessing because I can get my homework done right after school.”
On a typical day, he is done with classes before 1:30 p.m., leaving him time for schoolwork before baseball practice. He might even squeeze in some studies after baseball and before soccer practice at 7:30 p.m. under the lights at Wildcat Stadium.
Plus there is time between classes. This semester his classes are first, third and fifth periods. Next semester they are second, fourth and sixth periods. A Zoom class generally lasts an hour and 15 minutes, but teachers may let students out early if they get their classwork done.
As Rolling waits for the 2021 high school season to get underway, he is practicing with his club soccer team but has no games scheduled at present due to the coronavirus. He is also playing baseball with his club team. They have been able to travel to tournaments out of state. Before games, the players have a temperature check. During the games, they use hand sanitizers and wear turtleneck face masks throughout, even on the field.
“It’s different,” Rolling said. “When it’s hot, it sucks. It’s just a difficult time to be in right now as an athlete. It’s strange and just not normal.”
The Reporter will be featuring multiple-sport athlete features leading up to official practice in December. For ideas on local players, email msieger@thereporter.com
