From today's Charlotte Observer
Wednesday afternoon, Myers Park High football coach Scott Chadwick said, felt like “a gut punch.”
One day after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s public schools could reopen under a modified plan to allow in-person and remote learning, the N.C. High School Athletic Association announced it would delay the start of high school practice until at least Sept. 1.
NCHSAA rules state that football players must have at least eight practice days before playing, including three in full pads. Teams usually practice at least two weeks before playing, but the earliest date a team could play, after the eight days of practice, would be Sept. 10 or 11. But that’s a very ambitious timetable. Sept. 18 would be a more likely Week 1 date, Chadwick said.
NCHSAA: WE ARE PROVIDING HOPE FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
In addition to moving back the start of the season, the NCHSAA also designated the first five student days of the school year as a “dead period,” which means no workouts are allowed. The NCHSAA will allow teams to continue with limited summer conditioning and workouts under Phase One of its return to athletics plan.
The NCHSAA allowed teams to begin summer workouts on June 15, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Wake County have not begun and have not announced a date to start.
“For now,” NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said, “we believe these steps provide hope for our student athletes, and the possibility for playing fall sports. We know that many decisions are being made relative to the reopening plan your (schools) will follow. After each (school district) has had an opportunity to formalize and finalize those reopening plans, the NCHSAA staff will survey the membership to determine how sports should and/or can fit into the various models that will exist across the state.”
Tucker said the NCHSAA plan was not “in cement” and could change or be delayed further if COVID-19 numbers do not improve around the state.
“We acknowledge that playing certain sports are more problematic at any time without a vaccine,” she said, “however, we remain in consultation with our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee members, and they believe we can and should offer a sports program, with all necessary modifications, delays, etc. “
OTHER STATES AND PRIVATE SCHOOL IMPACT
Two neighboring states, Virginia and South Carolina, also announced return to sports plans Wednesday.
▪ South Carolina will delay the start of its sports season until September. The S.C. High School Executive League committee voted 14-2 in favor of the changes, which would push back the start of games to Sept. 1 or as late as Oct. 2. Teams will play conference games first with potential to add non-conference games later. Practice will begin Aug. 17 instead of July 30.
A proposal to move spring sports, like baseball, to the fall was voted down 16-1.
▪ In Virginia, the state association presented three options to schools today, but none included football.
One option had non-contact sports like golf and cross-country being played this fall. High-risk sports like football would be canceled. Another plan called for fall and spring sports to switch seasons. The third would be to start winter sports in December and to play shortened seasons; winter first, followed by fall and spring.
At Myers Park, Chadwick said he’s looking at all the state association decisions and thinks one thing.
“I think the varying degrees of what each state is doing kind of lets you know that nobody has a true picture of what’s going on,” he said. “I have hope (we play this fall) but I don’t know that I have confidence. I feel once we get our kids back in school and the mask mandate runs its course that maybe we’ll be in a better position come September to have some sense of normalcy.”
Wednesday afternoon, Myers Park High football coach Scott Chadwick said, felt like “a gut punch.”
One day after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s public schools could reopen under a modified plan to allow in-person and remote learning, the N.C. High School Athletic Association announced it would delay the start of high school practice until at least Sept. 1.
NCHSAA rules state that football players must have at least eight practice days before playing, including three in full pads. Teams usually practice at least two weeks before playing, but the earliest date a team could play, after the eight days of practice, would be Sept. 10 or 11. But that’s a very ambitious timetable. Sept. 18 would be a more likely Week 1 date, Chadwick said.
NCHSAA: WE ARE PROVIDING HOPE FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
In addition to moving back the start of the season, the NCHSAA also designated the first five student days of the school year as a “dead period,” which means no workouts are allowed. The NCHSAA will allow teams to continue with limited summer conditioning and workouts under Phase One of its return to athletics plan.
The NCHSAA allowed teams to begin summer workouts on June 15, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Wake County have not begun and have not announced a date to start.
“For now,” NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said, “we believe these steps provide hope for our student athletes, and the possibility for playing fall sports. We know that many decisions are being made relative to the reopening plan your (schools) will follow. After each (school district) has had an opportunity to formalize and finalize those reopening plans, the NCHSAA staff will survey the membership to determine how sports should and/or can fit into the various models that will exist across the state.”
Tucker said the NCHSAA plan was not “in cement” and could change or be delayed further if COVID-19 numbers do not improve around the state.
“We acknowledge that playing certain sports are more problematic at any time without a vaccine,” she said, “however, we remain in consultation with our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee members, and they believe we can and should offer a sports program, with all necessary modifications, delays, etc. “
OTHER STATES AND PRIVATE SCHOOL IMPACT
Two neighboring states, Virginia and South Carolina, also announced return to sports plans Wednesday.
▪ South Carolina will delay the start of its sports season until September. The S.C. High School Executive League committee voted 14-2 in favor of the changes, which would push back the start of games to Sept. 1 or as late as Oct. 2. Teams will play conference games first with potential to add non-conference games later. Practice will begin Aug. 17 instead of July 30.
A proposal to move spring sports, like baseball, to the fall was voted down 16-1.
▪ In Virginia, the state association presented three options to schools today, but none included football.
One option had non-contact sports like golf and cross-country being played this fall. High-risk sports like football would be canceled. Another plan called for fall and spring sports to switch seasons. The third would be to start winter sports in December and to play shortened seasons; winter first, followed by fall and spring.
At Myers Park, Chadwick said he’s looking at all the state association decisions and thinks one thing.
“I think the varying degrees of what each state is doing kind of lets you know that nobody has a true picture of what’s going on,” he said. “I have hope (we play this fall) but I don’t know that I have confidence. I feel once we get our kids back in school and the mask mandate runs its course that maybe we’ll be in a better position come September to have some sense of normalcy.”
