Greensburg Salem girls basketball shut down for 10 more days

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, January 11, 2021 | 4:30 PM

Purchase Photo Options

One step forward, two steps back.

Greensburg Salem cannot seem to gain any traction in girls basketball due to the covid-19 pandemic, which once again has halted play in the program.

Team activities have been suspended for 10 more days due to a covid case.

Coach Rick Klimchock’s team will endure a second mandatory quarantine and won’t return to practice until Jan. 19, district athletic director Frank Sundry said.

The team’s opening game might not happen until Jan. 23.

Until then, Zoom meetings will have to keep the team occupied and focused on the season.

“I can’t ask myself, why us?” Klimchock said. “Because our nation is dealing with massive cases and hospitalizations. I just pray for health and safety for all.”

The girls team also had to pause in early December for 14 days. Then, the district announced plans to pause all winter sports until late January, a declaration that was later changed.

Teams restarted practice Jan. 4 like the rest of the WPIAL following Gov. Tom Wolf’s three-week, statewide shutdown of high school sports.

Practice had just started to become routine again for the Golden Lions girls when another announcement came Monday. The team had four practices in November and six in January.

The PIAA mandates teams practice at least 10 times before their first game, which was relaxed from an initial 15. But the state later added an additional four practices after the three-week shutdown for teams that had reached the 10-practice amount.

Greensburg Salem will have to complete three practices in order to play their first game.

”They’ve been through this before,” Sundry said of the girls. “They have a lot of resolve on that team. Coach Klimchock and Coach (Lisa) Mankins will keep them upbeat and ready to practice.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg Salem