Kingston High ready to start season delayed by pandemic
The Tigers take the field at Warwick Saturday after the 2020 season was postponed by a pandemic
KINGSTON, N.Y. » After being sidelined for more than 16 months, Kingston High’s football team will be back on the field Saturday.
After having its 2020 season postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers are ready to open with an afternoon game at Warwick.
“The kids have been really resilient and we appreciate that,” said Kingston coach Quintin Johnson, who is in his fourth season with the Tigers.
Practice for the “Fall II” season began March 1. Although the Kingston school board didn’t approve high-risk sports until March 3, the team started on time, using New York state’s non-contact rules for their initial football workouts.
Kingston has approximately 40 players on both its varsity and junior varsity squads.
“We’re definitely young and inexperienced,” Johnson noted. “However, the kids have been working hard and I’m very excited to see, in such a short amount of time, the gains that we’ve made. I’m very excited to see what we are going to go out on the field and do.”
Kingston went 3-6 in its last season. It has not played since Oct. 30, 2019.
“We have some seniors who are back — some guys who were juniors with the last team that we had and played well,” he added.
COVID-19 protocols have Johnson and his coaches devoting 30 minutes before each practice to temperature checks, waivers and health surveys.
“Coaching the game has been more difficult, because
you’re so entrenched in protocols,” Johnson said. “We want to do it right to keep the kids safe.
“I’m not teaching and coaching as much as in past years. Before we even get out on the field, I have to go through the list of 80 names, go through surveys, take their temps, make sure they’re spread out, nobody in the locker room. It’s a lot more administration than X’s and O’s.”
The Tigers did conditioning in February, albeit in small gatherings. Snowstorms stopped outdoor sessions.
“We did some speed, agility and some weight training,” Johnson said, “but that was difficult, because you’re only allowed some many people in a spot and for so much time. In the past, we’ve had 60 kids in the weight room and we make it work. Now we couldn’t have more than 15 because of spacing, so it was certainly a challenge.
“One of the silver linings in this is that we’ve been able to use technology to our advantage. We’ve had video meetings. We had a video call with the kids, going over some film and teaching. We made the best of it, but nothing is going to replace showing up and being in the building and being with the kids every day.”
COVID-19 protocols also mandated players working in small pods.
“We’ve really shifted focus to individual skill development. I found we can get a lot done by splitting into pods, but that’s kind of been a football staple anyway,” said Johnson, referring to offense, defense and special teams working separately. In this instance, though, the receivers are not working with the offense while it concentrates on running plays.
“We do very limited 11-on11. So far, we’ve done a lot on air (passing) but we’re really leaning on our pod work to get that.,” he said. “Our philosophy right now is we want to save a lot of that stuff for the game. We want to save a lot of that contact for the game. We’re really trying to do the part/whole method. If everybody does their part and we come together as a whole, it should look good.”
The six-game schedule has the Tigers on the road for the first two contests, then home for the final four. The home opener is March 26 against Monticello, which begins a span of three games in nine days. The Tigers play Red Hook on Tuesday, March 30, then Roosevelt on Saturday, April 3. The season finale on April 16 is Kingston’s 115th meeting against longtime rival Newburgh.
“I’m not in favor of something like that,” Johnson said about the 3 games/9 days stint, “but it is to give the kids an opportunity to play as many games as possible.”
The short season should serve as a perfect setup for this fall’s regular campaign, especially for the Tigers’ underclassmen.
“My hope is we can use this spring season as a springboard into next fall. That’s how I see it. We want to play and compete, give the kids an opportunity and keep them safe, have fun and play,” Johnson said.
Spectators will be limited to two per athlete. Each athlete will be given two passes for spectators to use at home and away games.
“Usually around June we start rolling again. It’s something we’ve always done in the past. then get ready for August,” Johnson said. “We’re doing more teaching now. We’re doing more film now. We’re doing more things now than we’ve ever done in the month of March. It’s kind of nice to have this opportunity to teach, teach, teach, coach, correct, correct, correct and then get a little momentum heading into next fall.
“It’s almost two seasons for the price of one.”
Schedule
MARCH: 13, at Warwick, 2 p.m.; 19, at O’Neill, 6:30 p.m.; 26, MONTICELLO, 7 p.m.
APRIL: 3, ROOSEVELT, 7 p.m.; 16, NEWBURGH, 7 p.m.