Post by The Admin on Aug 4, 2021 7:32:51 GMT -6
High school administrators, OSSAA hoping for 'normal' fall but prepared to adjust due to COVID-19
www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/08/04/oklahoma-high-school-administrators-ossaa-hoping-normal-fall-amid-covid-19/5452921001/
www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/08/04/oklahoma-high-school-administrators-ossaa-hoping-normal-fall-amid-covid-19/5452921001/
Robert Foreman is looking forward to Mustang High School’s football home opener.
The Broncos’ athletic director knows how important his team’s first game of the season is each year. This year, however, the game has more significance.
Mustang hosts Yukon on Sept. 3 in one of the biggest rivalry games in the Oklahoma City area.
Foreman is hoping it will be the first Mustang home event since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that is at full capacity.
“Being in the athletic department, we want to get back to business as usual,” he said. “Our big money maker is Mustang-Yukon. We’re gearing up for that and looking forward to hosting that football game. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have 10,000 people in the stadium for that game.”
Athletes, coaches and administrators at high schools across the state are preparing for the start of the 2021-22 athletic season. Cross country, fall baseball, fast-pitch softball and volleyball begin contests next week while football games start at the end of the month.
Following a relatively normal summer with few COVID-related restrictions, coronavirus cases across the state and country are climbing again. That has caused administrators and others to wonder how it’s going to affect sports in the coming months.
Is this year going to be normal, or will it be similar to last year with COVID-19 protocols, canceled games and limited attendance?
Administrators say there’s no question that games are going to happen. Unlike last year, when most coaches sat in limbo waiting each week to find out if their teams were going to be able to play, teams and schools are gearing up for a full slate of competitions.
"Not having to go through protocols every single day has made life a lot easier," Piedmont cross country coach Kelly Beck said. "The kids seem less on edge as well."
That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns about what could happen.
“I still think we’re going to have some nights we may have to reschedule or postpone a game,” Edmond Public Schools athletic director Mike Nunley said. “There may be times we’re going to have to be quarantining.”
Following a year where nearly every team had some sort of interruption because of COVID-19, players, coaches and administrators alike can adapt to handling adverse situations.
That doesn’t mean any of them want to, but they will be prepared.
Foreman mentioned Mustang’s initiative to get as many coaches and players vaccinated as possible to avoid situations like what happened to North Carolina State’s baseball team at the College World Series. The baseball team had a COVID-19 outbreak during the World Series and the NCAA declared their semifinal game a "no contest," eliminating the Wolfpack from contention.
Nunley said another challenge is handling vaccinated versus unvaccinated athletes and the challenge of approaching that conversation without making it personal, political or religious.
Last year, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association didn’t have standard COVID-19 safety guidelines, instead leaving choices up to individual districts to determine what was best for each school.
This year, the plan is similar, but OSSAA associate director Mike Whaley said the association is moving forward as if it were a normal year.
“Our initial thought process is that we’re going to go back to non-COVID,” Whaley said. “We say that with our eyes on the numbers. We’re watching the numbers like everybody else is. If it becomes warranted that we make adjustments again, we’ll make adjustments.”
Whaley said the OSSAA will continue to stay in contact with the state department of health, as well as others, and adjust if needed.
As high school sports ramp up across the state, administrators and coaches are keeping their hopes up for a 'normal' year: teams playing the entirety of their schedules, no limitations on crowds regular-season games or playoff events, coaches not fretting every day about which athletes are going to show up to practice.
The outlook is positive heading into the high school sports season, but those in charge are ready to adjust if needed.
"I don't think anybody was a big fan of all the hoops we had to jump through to get to where we had to get to (last year)," Edmond Memorial athletic director Kyle Roberts said. "Obviously, we were willing to do that to get to play. At this point, we're not having to do all of those things, but it could get to that point again."
The Broncos’ athletic director knows how important his team’s first game of the season is each year. This year, however, the game has more significance.
Mustang hosts Yukon on Sept. 3 in one of the biggest rivalry games in the Oklahoma City area.
Foreman is hoping it will be the first Mustang home event since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that is at full capacity.
“Being in the athletic department, we want to get back to business as usual,” he said. “Our big money maker is Mustang-Yukon. We’re gearing up for that and looking forward to hosting that football game. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have 10,000 people in the stadium for that game.”
Athletes, coaches and administrators at high schools across the state are preparing for the start of the 2021-22 athletic season. Cross country, fall baseball, fast-pitch softball and volleyball begin contests next week while football games start at the end of the month.
Following a relatively normal summer with few COVID-related restrictions, coronavirus cases across the state and country are climbing again. That has caused administrators and others to wonder how it’s going to affect sports in the coming months.
Is this year going to be normal, or will it be similar to last year with COVID-19 protocols, canceled games and limited attendance?
Administrators say there’s no question that games are going to happen. Unlike last year, when most coaches sat in limbo waiting each week to find out if their teams were going to be able to play, teams and schools are gearing up for a full slate of competitions.
"Not having to go through protocols every single day has made life a lot easier," Piedmont cross country coach Kelly Beck said. "The kids seem less on edge as well."
That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns about what could happen.
“I still think we’re going to have some nights we may have to reschedule or postpone a game,” Edmond Public Schools athletic director Mike Nunley said. “There may be times we’re going to have to be quarantining.”
Following a year where nearly every team had some sort of interruption because of COVID-19, players, coaches and administrators alike can adapt to handling adverse situations.
That doesn’t mean any of them want to, but they will be prepared.
Foreman mentioned Mustang’s initiative to get as many coaches and players vaccinated as possible to avoid situations like what happened to North Carolina State’s baseball team at the College World Series. The baseball team had a COVID-19 outbreak during the World Series and the NCAA declared their semifinal game a "no contest," eliminating the Wolfpack from contention.
Nunley said another challenge is handling vaccinated versus unvaccinated athletes and the challenge of approaching that conversation without making it personal, political or religious.
Last year, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association didn’t have standard COVID-19 safety guidelines, instead leaving choices up to individual districts to determine what was best for each school.
This year, the plan is similar, but OSSAA associate director Mike Whaley said the association is moving forward as if it were a normal year.
“Our initial thought process is that we’re going to go back to non-COVID,” Whaley said. “We say that with our eyes on the numbers. We’re watching the numbers like everybody else is. If it becomes warranted that we make adjustments again, we’ll make adjustments.”
Whaley said the OSSAA will continue to stay in contact with the state department of health, as well as others, and adjust if needed.
As high school sports ramp up across the state, administrators and coaches are keeping their hopes up for a 'normal' year: teams playing the entirety of their schedules, no limitations on crowds regular-season games or playoff events, coaches not fretting every day about which athletes are going to show up to practice.
The outlook is positive heading into the high school sports season, but those in charge are ready to adjust if needed.
"I don't think anybody was a big fan of all the hoops we had to jump through to get to where we had to get to (last year)," Edmond Memorial athletic director Kyle Roberts said. "Obviously, we were willing to do that to get to play. At this point, we're not having to do all of those things, but it could get to that point again."
