More questions than answers surround football season

Heading into the first few days of summer, one thing is certain – the Indiana High School Athletic Association has given football teams the green light to resume activities beginning July 6. However, that is the only certainty, as there are still plenty of questions surrounding what practices may look like, what steps teams will take, and will there actually be a season come August. The National Federation of State High School Associations released information recently detailing three phases of reopening for high school sports. During all phases, it is suggested that coaches and officials wear masks. In Phase 1, temperature checks will be conducted before workouts, no more than 10 people gathering at a time and pods of the same 5-10 students workout together throughout the phase. There will be no locker room access and social distancing must be maintained. In Phase 2, temperature checks will continue, but up to 50 people can gather for an outdoor workout. Locker room access can be granted, but teams are encouraged to maintain social distancing. In Phase 3, 50 or more people can gather indoors, but a three-foot distance must be maintained when not in competition. Since students quit showing up to classrooms in March and April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, workouts have become individualized or done with very small groups. However, coaches have not had a chance to meet with players or conduct business outside of zoom meetings with players. That could be a hinderance for many teams, who will open the season not only with a new coach to the program, but a new head coach in general. In all phases, should a team member test positive for COVID-19, the entire team may need tested and quarantined. For Kyle Ralph, head coach at New Palestine High School, which has won back-to-back Class 5A titles, the July date gives his Dragons team a “good starting point.” “It gives us a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. The biggest thing is it gives us hope that something is going to happen, and then we’re going to start moving forward from this,” Ralph said. According to Ralph, teams normally have 16 weeks to put in offensive and defensive schemes, along with getting players used to the rigors of football, but all that has changed this year. “The biggest issue now is normally we have about 16 weeks to get a lot of this stuff done through spring ball and summer. Now we only get 16 days total going four days a week for four weeks, so that’s going to be difficult, but I think the excitement and the intensity from the kids knowing how valuable our time is will counter that,” Ralph said. Greenfield-Central second-year coach Travis Nolting admits the current situation has not been an “optimal situation.” “However, every school in the state has been in the same boat,” he said. Nolting notes that his team may not be as far behind the eight-ball as others due to the Wishbone system the Cougars run. “The fact that we are a system-based program helps. Our players are now in year two of our offensive and defensive systems. During our winter open facility sessions, our guys did great and were executing well,” said Nolting, adding his team has utilized Google hangouts while away from the field, weight room and school. Ironically, Nolting said he has been in a similar situation before of being away from players and having a very short period to get them prepared for a season. When he was hired at North Central Farmersburg in July of 2011, he had about three weeks to install his scheme and get his team ready for a game. “Coming into a new program, not knowing any of the kids and only having three weeks to prep before our first game was definitely a tall task. We were able to get it done though and eight seasons later, we had 60 wins and the first football sectional in county history,” Nolting said.