Anyone passing by Fort Smith’s Mayo-Thompson Stadium on Monday may be curious about weight-room equipment spread across the football field.
But lifting weights outside is one of the precautions Fort Smith Northside will take when team sports are allowed to resume in accordance with guidelines from Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health.
Monday will be the first day high school football coaches will see their players after several weeks of virtual meetings via social-media platforms such as Zoom and Google Classroom.
“Safety first,” Northside Coach Mike Falleur said. “We don’t want our players and coaches getting sick over something we didn’t do. So we’re going to be extra cautious and follow the guidelines.”
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences recommended guidelines on how to resume activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The guidelines include a detailed list of protocols for locker rooms and training rooms; tips for team gatherings, transportation and on-field hydration; equipment disinfection; and a number of other recommendations.
Checking the temperatures of players and coaches and maintaining a distance of 6 feet between participants are high on the list.
“We’ll have coaches at three different entrances, and players have to answer three questions before they can enter,” Greenwood Coach Chris Young said. “We’re going to be focused on the safety of our kids. They’ll be issued masks at the door and, if they’re able to answer three questions about their health to our satisfaction, they’ll be allowed to participate. We’ll spray down equipment after workouts, and our coaches will be wearing masks while maintaining distance from the players.”
With no spring practice, football coaches are behind in teaching and evaluating. That’s especially true for new head coaches such as Young and Reed Mendoza, who returns to Lincoln after one year at Dover. Mendoza and Young were assistants at their schools before being hired as head coaches.
Besides holding meetings with his players via social media, Mendoza has been busy moving back to Northwest Arkansas from Dover.
“We moved a bit each day for 10 straight days,” Mendoza said. “We’ll have our varsity out here for workouts at 7:30 a.m. and our junior high at 9 a.m. I’m looking forward to getting started and developing into some sort of routine.”
Monday’s return of in-person meetings is a huge first step for football coaches across the state, including Northside, which will open the season at home Aug. 27 against rival Fort Smith Southside. The teams will meet as nonconference opponents for the first time since 1981 after Southside was moved from the 7A-Central to the 7A-West for the 2020-21 reclassification cycle.
Falleur said he expects about 120 players at Mayo-Thompson Stadium on Monday.
“We’ve done a good job of the mental part with our [virtual] meetings,” Falleur said. “What we’ve been missing is the physical aspect and teaching players what they need to know about football. Things like the steps and hand placements for offensive linemen. We’ll get started on that Monday with our offensive players at 9 a.m. and defensive players at 10:45.”
Young was a longtime assistant coach at Greenwood before being named head coach in February to replace Rick Jones, who left to become a senior consultant for Eliah Drinkwitz, the head coach at the University of Missouri. Young will make his Greenwood head coaching debut at Southside before returning home to face Northside.
“We’re ready to get started and see our kids,” said Young, who expects 94 players for varsity football at Greenwood this season. “It’s tempting to hug them or exchange high-fives. But we’re going to wear our masks and keep our distance to protect our kids.”