San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Optimism, reality set to collide for high school sports.
‘Tentative’ opening date of Aug. 3 set for football and volleyball practices
Optimism and reality are on a collision course as the projected starting date approaches for UIL fall sports practices.
The UIL lists the starting date — Aug. 3 — for the first day of football and volleyball practices as “tentative.”
A spiking rate COVID-19 cases in Texas puts the season’s start in jeopardy. The Fourth of July holiday will serve as a barometer of where things are headed.
“It’s a blessing and a curse that it’s July Fourth,” Southwest ISD athletic director Pete Wagner said. “People need to be disciplined, especially our kids, coaches and everybody. If we keep trending that way (rising coronavirus cases), we’re just increasing our odds of not getting to do it. If we can come out of this weekend in better shape than we were last week, then we are going to trend (to where we can practice on time).”
UIL sporting events have been on hold since mid-March because of the COVID-19 outbreak. They were initially suspended March 13 and ultimately canceled the following month when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott closed campuses as co
ronavirus cases rose around the state.
Since then, it’s been a constant string of speculation of whether students can return to the classrooms to begin the 2020-21 school year. That’s likely a prerequisite for any sports to occur.
UIL cracked open the door for an on-time return when it allowed schools to hold summer conditioning and sport-specific camps on campus beginning June 8. Safety protocols — such as social distancing, sanitizing, disinfecting equipment and limited group gathering — were set.
On that day, there were 638 reported cases of COVID-19 in Texas. Friday, there were 7,555. That was two days after a high of 8,076.
As cases rose since June 8, schools districts announced suspensions of camps. Wednesday, UIL issued a recommendation that camps be suspended until July 13 as the Texas struggles to control the pandemic.
“Our approach was right to begin with,” Brackenridge football coach Willie
Hall said. “We waited for the spike to do down, and now that’s it’s ramped up again, they made us stop strength and conditioning. I agree with it. We need to be safe. If it goes back down in a couple of weeks, we can get back at it. It’s a safety precaution, and you never know which direction it’s going. It could take a few more changes before anything’s resolved.”
In response to the rising cases, Abbott issued an executive order Friday mandating people wear face masks while in a business and at outdoor spaces when social distancing is not possible. On June 26, he ordered bars to be shut down and limited restaurant occupancy to 50 percent (from 75 percent).
In San Antonio, most parks are closed through Monday to discourage large crowd gatherings for the holiday weekend.
“As a group, we need to figure it out,” Wagner said. “If the safest way is to not have bars open or have 35-, 40-person family reunions so our kids can go to school, then that seems like the patriotic thing to do. I’m not one to question what (the solution) is, but I’m listening and trying to do the right thing.”
Conditioning camps at Southwest ISD were prefaced by explanations to athletes on protocols such as hand-washing and social distancing are crucial to stopping the pandemic’s spread. North East ISD Kelly Parker said his school district had a similar orientation before it opened camps for skill work.
They hope the public heeds the state’s directives until July 13 when most schools hope to resume camps.
“Until people start being smart about this and wearing masks and social distancing, we’re going to be in a world of hurt as far as starting on time,” Parker said. “Everything is so up in the air, it’s really hard to know where we are going to be until the next day.”
July 13 is key for football. Coaches believe athletes need six weeks of conditioning and practices in order to be ready for the season.
The first day of football is scheduled for Aug. 27. Contact practices are scheduled for Aug. 8, and scrimmages could begin Aug. 13. They are subject to change.
“If we can get started back on July 13, we’ll still be on track,” Parker said. “But of course, we thought we were on track and all of the sudden we started having all these cases all over the state and that’s kind of put us on hold. Even if we get back in that week of July 13, who’s to say we don’t have to go on hold again because cases are on the rise again?”
Although on-campus camps are on hold, coaches are still implementing conditioning instruction remotely.
“Our kids are going to have to continue to work out with Zoom workouts,” Hall said. “Conditioning is a major part of football. Kids can end up getting hurt if they are not conditioned properly, and we don’t want that. I’m looking forward to us getting back out there and working with the kids. It’s a tough situation. It’s week by week and day by day.”
Volleyball is on a faster track. The first games are scheduled for Aug. 10. Returning to sport-specific workouts July 13 is vital.
“These girls need repetitions, because once they come in Aug. 3, in seven days, they are pretty much playing,” Parker said. “A concern our volleyball coaches have is the gym time and hitting the ball and moving on their feet.”
Hall, 64, is set to retire after the season after 26 years as the Eagles’ coach. He hopes he gets a chance to do it.
“I’m retiring from my job, so I hope the season occurs, but only if it’s going to be safe,” Hall said. “My hopes and wishes are one thing, but reality is another.”