Christmas morning? More like trick or treat

Monday is supposed to be like Christmas morning for high school coaches across the state of Mississippi.

It may end up more like Halloween with a trick rather than a treat.

The target date for the return to athletic activities by the Mississippi High School Activities Association was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel that things were going to start looking a little bit more normal.

When first learning the news that fall sports teams were getting the go ahead for work, it was an encouraging sign and the initial reaction was good.

However, there is really no joy in Mudville, Starkville or any other ville.

It appears that the ruling by the MHSAA, although as positive as it seems on the surface, could create more problems than solutions.

There are some real concerns from some of the coaches about how to approach the return to work. Who can blame them?

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) still exists. People are getting sick. People are going to the hospital. People are dying.

This is not a slap at what the MHSAA is trying to accomplish because the organization held an all day executive meeting recently to come up with the best plan to move forward and put out guidelines for all schools to follow. MHSAA doesn’t take this situation lightly. It understands that if things are not done right, it could cause all kinds of problems across the state.

Coaches still have apprehension even under the safest environments. There are questions about how many people can be involved in a team meeting before it becomes dangerous and do players and coaches need to wear masks? If so, where do they get masks because they are in such high demand? They are not just hanging on trees outside the locker room.

What if a player comes to a workout sick and they are not identified until it’s too late? Some coaches at smaller schools may not have the means to test or may not take it seriously. It’s not good when an entire team is exposed and all players have to go into immediate quarantine for at least two weeks.

It can be more stressful for coaches to have to deal with those issues than having to win football games.

The situation will definitely be a touch and go until everyone sees how it is handled.

Some teams will go ahead and try to start summer drills on Monday, but other schools have elected to wait a little longer. Starkville High School’s football program is one of those.

The Yellow Jackets plan to resume workouts on June 15 under the strict guidelines by the MHSAA.

In a change from an earlier announcement, there will be a football parents meeting for SHS varsity football grades nine through 12 at 6 p.m. on June 11 at Yellow Jacket Stadium. A meeting for junior high will be at a later date.

There is no doubt that the SHS administration and coaches will be as careful as possible to make sure they are preparing everyone involved and emphasize safety.

No one wants to see a return to sports more than me because it has been extremely missed, but the risk outweighs the benefit if this plan backfires.

Let’s hope the treat of having sports back doesn’t turn into a trick with a turn for the worse in the spread of this terrible virus.