The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Guidelines seen as good starting point
Are we getting one step closer to football returning to Northeast Ohio this fall?
It seems that way as the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association released guidelines for football and the Ohio High School Athletic Association released guidelines for all fall sports within the past couple of days.
Both organizations’ guidelines for football were similar with each recommending the following:
• Halftime should be shortened (OHSAA recommends 10 minutes, OHSFCA recommends 12);
• Both recommend the nonsharing of water bottles and equipment;
• Both recommend that sidelines be extended to enable proper social distancing;
• Both recommend that face coverings should be worn while not on the field of play;
• Both recommend that footballs should be sanitized throughout the contest among other things.
The OHSFCA had a few additional recommendations:
• Temperatures being taken by all those attending the game;
• A limit of personnel on the sidelines;
• Distancing on the sidelines, which includes anyone on the sideline wearing a mask;
• Players should have four T-shirts — one for pregame, first half, second half and post-game; and
• The limiting of locker room use and utilizing outdoor areas around the field when possible.
Gov. Mike DeWine was asked about the OHSFCA’s recommendations during a July 22 news conference and said, “We’re going to be giving them additional guidance based on what we’re seeing in Ohio. We’re not ready to announce that yet.”
With additional guidelines on the way, the OHSFCA’s proposal is at least a starting point for schools and coaches. It’s a step in the right direction and a potential step towards having sports this fall after the OHSAA canceled spring sports in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I commend the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association for being proactive and coming up with a proposal,” Avon head coach Mike Elder said. “Something to at least give us a starting point for the Governor’s office and the OHSAA to look at and find a way to make this happen. I’m a proponent of our kids having a season and the importance of getting our kids, to safely as possible, compete this fall.” Avon Lake head coach Matt Kostelnik was also on board with the OHSFCA’s recommendations as they give coaches and teams hope. “I thought it was really well thought out and I think the recommendations give us a chance and a purpose,” Kostelnik said. “Anything that will steer us in the right direction of having a season I think is a positive thing. The recommendations that I read through give us that opportunity to at least make our way back to football.” Kostelnik likens the recommendations to a junior varsity football game as teams seemingly need to come to the stadium dressed in their uniforms and ready to go. “I shared with my coaching staff that it’s like a JV football game,” Kostelnik said. “We show up, we play, we try to avoid the locker rooms, we’ll have to bring our own water and let’s roll.” When asked about the guidelines, area coaches seemed to agree that implementing the recommendations is doable while also recognizing things will be different than years past.
“I think everything in their proposal is certainly doable,” Elder said. “There are things that I’m sure other people will think of that will make it even better. The intent is to be able to play the game of football and it’s not going to be the way it looked last year as there are going to be some differences. However, we still have the game, we still have the camaraderie and the team. We just have to be smarter about the distancing and the contact times.”
Keystone head coach Don Griswold shed some light on why both organizations recommended a shorter halftime period.
“The guidelines are aligned with science, they promote social distancing and they are all doable,” Griswold said. “The CDC states that you are most vulnerable to catching COVID if you’ve been in contact with someone who is COVID positive for 15 minutes.
“The OHSFCA (calculated) out the cumulative contact times. There was a scenario that if you’re a lineman and you play 100 snaps in a typical football game, that would accumulate to five minutes of contact with another human being. They really aligned that with the best science they have now with the CDC guidelines.”
Elder and his team will be prepared come game time as they have been practicing most of the social distancing and sanitizing methods mentioned by the OHSFCA.
“A lot of the things there that they are requiring or requesting, we have been doing all of July with our camp days anyway,” Elder said. “The temperature checks, the hand sanitation stations, the smaller groups and the limiting of the amount of time together. It just reaffirms the things we are already doing and we will continue to have conversations on ways we can get even better.”
All of the coaches are hoping the football season kicks off as they know how important extracurricular activities are for students. Elder is optimistic about the prospect of fall sports getting underway soon.
“I’m very optimistic,” Elder said. “I think that people understand the importance of extracurricular activities. We’ve been without them now throughout an entire spring and this summer we were able to get some things up and running a little bit.
“I think that everyone understands that there are some risks involved with having sports but there’s risks involved with not having them as well. The unintended result of these kids being isolated and not able to participate and do the things they love and care about.”