High school football returns... sort of
Practices look significantly different this summer, due to safety precautions over COVID-19. The upcoming season will also see changes. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
NORWALK - After months of waiting and rumors flying around like that of a football on a Friday night at a high school field near you, football is back. Well, sort of.
Recently, at St. Paul, you could hear and see the familiar sounds of players running and coaches yelling in various drills.
How big was it to see everyone back on the field, even if it’s only for conditioning.
But, something was missing - the football. Also missing were pads and sleds. Only cones and ladders were apparent.
“I love it, it’s exciting,” St. Paul coach Rick Zepeda said, “It’s what we’re all about as coaches. We want to be with our team. I miss my boys. I love the fact that we’re out here, even though there all are restrictions, it’s just what I do. I love being around the team.
“This is normally close to how we practice anyhow. We’re not trying to compete against anybody else but ourselves. It’s kind of just a nice time to work on little things that we normally don’t get to work on. But, at the same time we’re taking our time to move our kids to different groups so they get the opportunity to wipe down their hands and any equipment they touched.”
Zepeda continued, “It’s new for me, it’s new for everyone. There’s not a right answer to it. It’s real, the era that we’re living in right now. I just refer to the experts and follow their guidelines. That’s all we can really do. The safety of my boys is obviously number one. The families and myself are making decisions everyday. This is not a coaching decision, it’s a family decision.”
With a new normal in place with the taking of temperatures, social distancing and groups of no bigger than 10, the summer conditioning period has a lot of questions due to the Covid-19 precautions.
Some wonder if the season will begin on time or even be delayed until January.
Players from all over have been texting and connecting on social media with their coaches of when a return to the field will happen.
Most schools in the area returned last Monday.
However, in the Norwalk-La Mirada School District, it is still a waiting game.
Norwalk High School is not practicing at this time.
“I just talked to my coaches (Wednesday),” Norwalk coach Dean Gray said. “Everybody is just waiting to hear something on July 20th. It’s safety first and we’re just making sure everything is done right and we’re just going to listen to the experts. We want to make sure the community and kids are safe.”
Coach Gray will be sending out an email to the players and parents after a decision is made on July 20th.
“We will have transportation issues just for practice,” said Gray, referring to plans if and when they start up. “We did it some last year with our new stadium being built.”
CIF Announcement
The CIF Commissioner of Athletics for the Southern Section, Rob Wigod, recently sent a letter to high school principals and athletic directors regarding the current situation. July 20 is the target date that both the state and the Southern Section will make an announcement on sports going forward this year.
“The message I want to convey to all of you is that we are totally committed to having Fall, Winter and Spring sports during the 2020-21 school year. I want to remind you that the decisions to reopen our schools, and subsequently bring back athletic programs after they have started their academic year, will be made entirely by each local Superintendent/School Board from a public school district or each private school Head of School/School Board who have the authority to make those decisions. I am sure they will follow the recommendations of state and local health authorities in arriving at the decisions that are in the best interests of their students and school communities.”
Wigod went on to say and briefly talked about the teleconference that he had with the CIF State office and the 10 Section Commissioners recently.
“At this meeting, there was a lengthy discussion regarding the various scenarios that relate to Fall sports.
“...... there will be an announcement from the CIF State office addressing the status of Fall sports to be made no later than Monday, July 20.”
NFHS Guidelines
The re-opening of sports has been divided into three phases, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
Phase 1 - Includes coaches and players screening, limitations of gatherings (groups of 10 only), facilities cleaning, athletic equipment and hydration rules.
Phase 2 - Screening, gatherings of 10 or more indoors and up to 50 outdoors and restrictions on facilities cleaning, athletic equipment and hydration rules.
Phase 3 - Screening, gatherings of up to 50 individuals (indoors or outdoors), facilities cleaning, athletic equipment and eventual opening of practices and competitions with numerous restrictions.
The complete list of guidelines may be found at the NFHS website (“Guidance for state associations to consider in reopening high school athletics and activities).
New Playoff System
In addition, if and when high school football gets going, throw a new playoff format into the equation. A new playoff system will be implemented at the end of the regular season based on a power rating assigned by CalPreps.com.
What they said:
Daniel Pallan, St.Paul
“It feels amazing to practice with my buddies.
It’s a blessing to be back and working with my brothers. It’s just not that many people are around each other. So, kind of spread out. We have regular groups and they are safer that way. Everyone is required to wear a mask when we practice. We have small groups and that’s following the protocol.
I’m looking forward to finishing this year. We made it that far last year (Division 5 finals). We just need to push everyday.”
Bryan Velasco, St. Paul
“It feels amazing, honestly to be back. We had these little zoom meetings for training. It was hard at first, but it's always good to be back out here on the playing field. It's always good to be back with everyone, of course at a safe distance.
You have to adapt with everything if you want to play.”