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Thread: News on High School Football

  1. #1
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    Default News on High School Football

    2020 won’t look the same. But there will be football, SC high school coaches predict

    High school coaches around South Carolina are optimistic about having football in the fall, according to a poll conducted by The State, but they’re preparing for disruptions to the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
    Of the 71 coaches who responded, 70 said they believe football will be played this year. About half of those coaches believe the season won’t start on time — the first games are scheduled for Aug. 20-22.

    A variety of scheduling scenarios were offered, such as starting the season right after Labor Day or in the middle of September. Some coaches predicted the season might not begin until early October. And one coach suggested the possibility of not playing until the spring.

    “Playing on Aug. 21 would be tough,” River Bluff coach Blair Hardin said. “I think we are looking to see what college and NFL are going to do. Once it is announced what is going to happen, every coach will definitely just have to adjust. The biggest thing is, there are a lot of unknowns.”
    Some coaches said schools could play a shorter fall schedule with just region games if the season is delayed. And it remains to be seen if, and how, spectators can be allowed into stadiums.

    “I’ve heard different scenarios. Flipping region games and play earlier, or just region games,” May River coach Rodney Summers said. “I hope we can keep like it is. I understand if we have something happens and everyone is home for three weeks. We are used to it with hurricanes. Everyone is in same boat with this. It is frustrating not knowing.”
    HOW, AND WHEN, TO BEGIN?
    A big first question that needs resolution: When can athletes begin participating on campuses in school-organized workouts and activities?

    S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has started to lift or soften some restrictions statewide. He announced this week that recreational businesses such as gyms can reopen starting Monday, giving athletes another option to work out on their own.

    But working out at a school’s weight room or practice fields remains off-limits for now.

    The S.C. High School League said it will follow McMaster’s lead for when to allow on-campus activities that involve larger groups. A restriction remains on gatherings of 10 or more people. The earliest any workouts for the 2020 season can begin is June 1.

    Myrtle Beach football coach Mickey Wilson laments the inability to meet with his team right now, but supports measures being taken to combat the coronavirus, including social distancing.

    “Football is a gathering sport, and unfortunately right now it’s probably in the best interest not to be gathering,” Wilson said. “I can’t wait to get back on the field with my players and coaches and see all those guys. You miss that more than anything. But at the same time you realize what’s important now is to give our medical professionals and scientists time to kind of figure this thing out. Hopefully we can get back at some point in the fall and summer and have a chance to compete and practice and play a little bit.”

    Wilson said he was encouraged by several colleges, including South Carolina and Clemson, announcing they plan to bring students back to campus for the fall semester.

    The timeline for an on-time start to high schools’ fall seasons isn’t clear. It will begin, however, with some semblance of summer workouts.

    S.C. High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton has been in contact with counterparts from states from around the Southeast about their plans. North Carolina is in a similar spot with June a possible month that activities can resume, as long as certain restrictions are lifted by state government.

    The Georgia High School Association told the (Columbus) Ledger-Enquirer that it’s preparing a “measured return to athletic training and activities” with so many missing their routine of spring weightlifting and practices. According to a Savannah TV report from WJCL, one possible plan for Georgia high schools is for football practice to begin July 6 with five days of mandatory heat acclimation practices. The first day for a full-pad workout would be July 27.

    “It is hard to predict,” Singleton said. “Making plans and what you do today could be obsolete tomorrow. Everything can change too, much too fast. We are tying to being fluid. There is no book on the shelf to help you go through this.”

    SCHSL executive committee members said they would be willing to lift the league’s “dead period” of no workouts for the week after July 4 to give athletes an extra week to practice in the summer.

    While football gets most of the attention, Singleton said there fall sports such as girls golf and girls tennis have a greater chance to begin on time because there are fewer players and it’s easier to practice social distancing.

    Mike Fanning, the athletic director for the S.C. Independent Schools Association, has been in touch with the SCHSL and the Department of Heath and Environmental Control. He anticipates a phased-in progression of activities, as well as increased sanitation procedures and materials for frequent cleaning of facilities, equipment and common areas.

    SCISA schools are expected to receive summer workout guidance by May 25. Fanning said there will likely be daily health screenings for players, coaches and managers, and other precautions such as players no longer using shared water bottles and cups.

    “Right now, I may only know many of the questions as we work on the answers,” Fanning said.

    STAY READY. STAY IN SHAPE
    Until schools, players and coaches get the go-ahead to resume in-person workouts, athletes will continue to train on their own or virtually.

    One concern expressed by many coaches in The State’s survey is players’ conditioning levels when they return — and the fact athletes are required to get physicals for the upcoming season. One coach said it’s important to have at least eight weeks of training before playing their first game, a timeline USC coach Will Muschamp also said was key for college players.

    “That is what you use the winter and spring for, to get them into shape,” Hardin said. ”It gets so hot in the summer, so you want them to be in good shape. You don’t want to overwork them when you need them.”

    High school strength and conditioning coaches around the state offer guidance from afar to make sure their athletes can get workouts in during the quarantine. They post daily or weekly workouts and conduct virtual workouts on Zoom, but nothing can be mandatory.

    Summers asks his May River players to fill out a weekly workout log.

    The Burrells said they work out each day after their school work is completed. They also meet on Zoom with Blythewood strength coach Michael Aimone and their teammates several times a week.

    As far as X’s and O’s, coaches are able to go over things with their players but there is only so much you can get from a virtual meeting. Teams weren’t able to have their allotted spring practices because of the coronavirus.

    That makes things tough for new coaches who were hired in the offseason. Teams might scale back on their playbooks for 2020 because of that, Hardin said.

    There have been some positives for teams during the quarantine time. Coaches have been able to spend more time with their families over the past two months. At the same time they’ve had to step up their technology game with more tweets to parents, more phone calls to players and meetings via Zoom video calls with their coaching staffs.

    Summers is doing a virtual spring practice three times a week with his team during May. The May River coaching staff meets on Zoom for an hour with each position group and then by offense and defense.

    “Installing what we would regularly do in spring. We spend a lot of time watching film and trying to teach them what to do,” Summers said. “We have incoming freshmen sitting in and try to help them with terminology and it helps guys that are coming back. We record the meetings and watch it. I’ve been pleased with the amount of participation.”

    They’ve also been able to learn a lot from college coaches, who are usually on campus in spring to check out prospective players. South Carolina and other colleges have hosted virtual clinics for high school coaches, offering ideas they take and apply for the upcoming season.

    “I’ve been on Zoom calls with a lot of Division I schools, a lot of Division II schools, and even high school coaches are doing them now,” Northwestern High School coach Page Wofford said. “It’s a really good time to learn a lot and try to improve.”

    Wofford — one of several coaches in York, Chester and Lancaster counties going into their second seasons — said those Zoom calls also been a way to connect with coaches at college football programs where his players could one day land.

    “It’s just a way to network, introduce yourself and to try to understand what those schools are about so that when you have a player that fits that role, it’s easier to try to get them in there after high school,” Wofford said.

    FANS OR NO FANS? THAT IS THE QUESTION
    If football and other fall sports get the go-ahead for games in the fall, will they be played in front of packed stands, empty ones or something in between?

    Major League Baseball is pointing to a return in July but without fans. That could be the case for the NBA if it comes back for 2020. NASCAR and the PGA Tour are resuming their seasons but without spectators.

    College football is planning for the likelihood of playing in front of smaller crowds. That could mean 15,000 to 30,000 fans at a USC or Clemson home game in stadiums that seat more than 80,000 — all because of social distancing practices.

    In The State’s survey to high school coaches, 55.9% said they expect to have fans in the stands with some sort of limitations because of health restrictions. Only 4.4% of coaches expect to have no fans at games.

    High school stadiums have much smaller capacities than colleges, and measures can be in place to make sure fans would be spread out throughout the stands.

    No fans at games — or, in a worst-case scenario, no season at all — would have a financial impact on schools’ athletics budget. Football ticket sales and business sponsorships are key drivers for most high schools.

    “I told our coaches the other day, we would have to get creative in ways to help fund the athletic department,” Ridge View athletic director Brian Rosefield said.

    “I think a tremendous impact financially for schools that rely on that revenue to support other programs throughout their school,” Summers said. “But like everything else, we will just have to adapt and adjust on how we proceed and make cutbacks on things we want vs. things we need.”

    State leaders are hopeful that school can begin as planned in August. Having in-person classes is critical to high school sports taking place.

    “Nobody’s ever been through this before. There’s so much unknown out there,” Myrtle Beach’s Wilson said. “You hope with the state and America being opened back up we continue on a trend of everything going well and we don’t have any setbacks. I feel if that were to happen there’s a good chance we could be out there at some point. This is just such uncharted waters that it’s hard to predict any type of timeline when that will happen.

    “Anybody that loves football will tell you they’ll take anything right now, whether it’s a late start, whether there’s fans in the stands or not, I think just the love of football will drive you to get anything out of it if possible.”

    https://www.thestate.com/sports/high...242694411.html

  2. #2
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    I'm hopeful. There have been years that it wouldn't bother me one bit to do away with the season. But it's a little more meaningful after we had a great run with a young group last year only to lose in the upper state championship game (to probably the second best team in SC). We are preseason ranked #1 in 3A for the upcoming year. This is all selfishly speaking......

    I hate it for the kids, especially the seniors.
    Bah! Humbug!

  3. #3
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  4. #4
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    Hopefull they can work something out. My son is a rising junior in Charlotte and is chomping at the bit to get on the field.

  5. #5
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    I think lot of it depends on when they can start practice. We have been told by Aug 1 and if that late I can see not starting until mid Sept

    Got my fingers crossed they get to start a by first of July 1 then season could start on time.

  6. #6
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    Our boys are scheduled to start workouts June 7. They are doing virtual install offense and defense.
    A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.

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  7. #7
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    I just glanced at the rules for Irmo little league.

    No handshake rules
    Coaches sanitize game balls between innings
    Players will put their bags on the fence outside the Dougout
    Players will set in the stands with social distancing and only a max of 3 players allowed in the dougout at one time
    ......
    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel Yell View Post
    now Hogan can fuck off on here all day and call it work, thanks!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jozie & Me View Post
    Our boys are scheduled to start workouts June 7. They are doing virtual install offense and defense.
    I spoke with our AD last night. She said workouts may start in June, but it won't be until mid to late June if then. She's hopeful the season will start on time, but has no clue what will be done about spectators.

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