The Grasso Tech and Norwich Tech boys' and girls' basketball teams are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the upcoming weeks.

Ellis Tech and Windham Tech, too.

The Connecticut Technical Conference broke its 17 schools up into four "pods" this winter to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 from region-to-region. Schools will only play within their pod. Ellis, Grasso, Norwich and Windham make up the "East Pod."

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference announced on Jan. 14 that basketball teams can play up to 12 games, thus the four schools will play one another four times.

"I'm kind of looking at it as it's giving the kids an opportunity to play," said Gregg Antoch, Grasso Tech's athletic director and boys' basketball coach. "I don't think it's ideal, but I think given what we're in, it's the best-case scenario."

Norwich Tech athletic director Tim DeLucia said, "My coaches were honestly just happy to have something to look forward to. I don’t know what next week is going to look like. I don’t know what the week after is. . … At least there's a schedule in place and we have potential games for the winter."

The four schools played in the Eastern Connecticut Conference last fall in order to limit travel outside the region due to COVID-19 concerns.

The CIAC announced that schools would go return to their respective leagues this winter. Basketball is the only CIAC team sport Grasso Tech and Norwich Tech will play this winter as the indoor track and field season was postponed and wrestling was canceled.

The CTC stretches across the state, from Stamford (Wright Tech) to Manchester (Cheney Tech) to Wolcott (Wolcott Tech). Ellis, Grasso, Norwich and Windham previously played in the CTC's Charter Oak Division. The division was rounded out by Goodwin Tech (New Britain), Prince Tech (Hartford), Vinal Tech (Middletown) and Cheney with teams playing interdivisional games.

"We have a great relationship with all those schools," Antoch said about the East Pod. "A lot of the kids know each other. They're rivalry schools for us. We're going to try to build it up. We're telling our kids we're going to be as competitive as ever trying to win as much as we are just trying to get back into the gym. It's making the best of a pretty bad situation."

Cheney, Goodwin, Prince and Vinal are in the Central Pod.

The South Pod is made up of Kaynor Tech, Whitney Tech, Wilcox Tech and Wolcott Tech.

Abbott Tech, Bullard-Havens, O'Brien Tech, Platt Tech and Wright Tech comprise the West.

Schools were allowed to begin conditioning on Jan. 19 and could begin play on Feb. 8.

The CTC's East Pod will begin its basketball regular season on Feb. 9. Ellis Tech (Grasso Tech) and Windham Tech (Norwich Tech) will host boys games, while Grasso Tech will play host to Ellis Tech and Norwich Tech will play host to Windham Tech.

The ECC pushed back the start of its basketball season to Feb. 12 because some schools are presently in distance learning.

Indoor track and field is Grasso's only other CIAC sanctioned winter sport. The CIAC postponed the sport and will look at allowing dual meets or conference meets in small groups in March weather permitting. Teams may practice for the time being.

Norwich Tech ordinarily co-ops with East Lyme in gymnastics and wrestling, but the ECC will not allow co-ops this winter. Norwich Tech's one gymnast, however, can continue to practice with East Lyme while competing as a team of one.

"There's only four or five girls from East Lyme anyways (on the team) and they're all part of ABC Gymnastics in East Lyme," DeLucia said. "They’ve been practicing strong. They have their protocols. They have their masks on. They have to wear them at all times unless they're on an apparatus. They're deeming it safe, so we said she could go.

"She'd be (practicing and competing) if she was not affiliated if I wasn’t going to allow it, so we decided to allow it."

n.griffen@theday.com