Sports will look different under recommended NFHS guidelines

Imagine high school football practices without quarterbacks throwing or handing off the ball.

Basketball workouts where players can’t pass to a teammate or rebound a missed shot.

Those are some of the guidelines the National Federation of State High Schools Associations recommended this week to its 51 state associations, including the Florida High School Athletic Association, as a way to assist in planning the return of high school sports activities.

The recommendations, developed by the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, offers a glimpse at what the resumption of scholastic sports might look like in Florida. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement and cancellation of FHSAA spring sports championships and spring football practices after schools were closed in mid-March.

In a 15-page document, the NFHS detailed a three-phase approach to reopening high school, club and youth sports, including adhering to the use of cloth masks, meticulous sanitary practices and socialdistancing precautions, which include a minimum separation of 6 feet between individuals.

State and local health departments, and broader decisions made by Gov. Ron DeSantis, will ultimately play a role in how Florida’s 67 school districts decide to move forward with athletics. And it remains to be seen how many of the NFHS recommendations will be adopted on a state-wide basis.

“I think it’s great guidance,” FHSAA executive director George Tomyn said on Thursday. “I would not say that this is exactly what we’re going to do. It’s certainly good information for us to consider going forward.”

The NFHS sent its recommendations to state associations for review late last week and discussed the document in a national webinar on Monday. It released to the public on Tuesday.

The Phase 1 advice for summer and fall workouts includes doing no weightlifting that requires a spotter, and prohibiting player contact in football. Volleyball players could not touch ball hit by another player until after it is sanitized. Baseball and softball players could not warm up by tossing a ball back and forth. Wrestlers would have to drill their moves without touching a teammate.

The NFHS said teams should be divided into pods of five to 10 players and those groups should stay together each day during workouts to limit the exposure if one student is infected.

It also asks states to consider adjusting game schedules to decrease travel and reduce time spent in school buses or vans.

States rely on the NFHS to develop rule books for specific sports and provide a platform for national conferences and conversations. But by-laws and policies vary, including practice start dates, and are determined by individual associations.

“The NFHS has a healthy respect for the differences between states,” Tomyn said. “And the reality for us is that Florida itself is so diverse. We have different situations in different regions within our state. We respect and understand that some districts are going to be able to move forward at different times. We must consider that.”

The national federation flagged football, wrestling, boys lacrosse, and competitive cheer as high-risk sports due to the close contact of participants.

Football is the only high school sport in the high-risk category that is played in the fall, putting it at the forefront of decisions the FHSAA and school administrators must make.

Phase 1 of the NFHS plan includes screening coaches and students for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 prior to workouts, limiting practices to groups of no more than 10 and no use of locker rooms.

The current FHSAA calendar calls for three weeks of preseason football, starting July 27 with five days of non-contact drills. The other fall sports — girls volleyball, cross country, golf, bowling and swimming — are also at this point scheduled to begin practice on that date.

FHSAA rules regarding summer activities in June and July are very limited and mostly at the discretion of school districts and schools. Football teams are permitted by the FHSAA to participate with schoolissued helmets and pads in summer camps that are run by third parties.

Some football coaches have expressed concern about a competitive advantage for schools that are permitted to host preseason activities before others. The NFHS release spoke to that issue:

“While we would typically have reservations regarding such inequities, the NFHS [Sports Medicine Advisory Committee] endorses the idea of returning students to school-based athletics and activities in any and all situations where it can be done safely.”

Another worry is that players who missed out on 20 days of spring practice will not be in proper shape for the fall season.

Tomyn said the FHSAA has been asked about allowing an earlier start to football fall practices or adding several weeks of practice in June or July to make up for the loss of spring preparation.

The board is scheduled to meet June 8-9. Tomyn said it should be decided in the next few days whether that will be a virtual meeting or the normal gathering of the board at FHSAA headquarters in Gainesville.