High school team sports in Arkansas are still suspended, but there is renewed hope for a return after the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences issued guidelines Wednesday advising schools on how to resume activities during the coronavirus pandemic.
That's good news for football coaches who are eager to increase preparations for a potential 2020 season. Many coaches are conducting instructional meetings with their players via social media platforms such as Zoom and Google Classroom.
Under normal conditions, high school football teams in Arkansas would be holding spring practices now.
"It would be great to get back together and see each other," said Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood, who is currently conducting meetings via social media with his assistant coaches and 160 players in grades 10-12. "These athletes are a part of our family, our extended family, and we're missing that camaraderie.
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"That doesn't mean we have to have our arms around each other. We can do what needs to be done safely from 6 to 10 feet apart."
Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed gyms and fitness centers to resume operations May 4 under strict guidelines. Hutchinson said Tuesday that he will announce next week whether restrictions on team sports will be lifted.
"I'm tired of looking at our players on Google meetings," Bentonville West football Coach Bryan Pratt said. "It's just different. A big concern is conditioning and, until we see our players actually get out there and do it, you don't know what kind of shape they're going to be in.
"I'm proud of our governor and the medical people. We can keep our fingers crossed this is the light at the end of the tunnel."
The UAMS Covid-19 Sports Committee that drafted the recommendations and guidelines includes experts from sports medicine, orthopaedic surgery, family medicine, pathology and infectious disease.
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.
"Our experts developed these guidelines so teams across the state don't have to start from scratch as they consider what a safe return to play might look like," said Wesley Cox, the committee chairman and chief of orthopaedics and sports medicine at UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. "We also wanted to provide some basic expectations for all teams so they feel they can interact and compete with the peace of mind of knowing everyone is holding themselves to the same safety standards. Safe team sports make for safe students and safe communities."
One of the many recommendations by UAMS calls for high school athletes who test positive for covid-19 to be cleared by an athletic trainer or personal physician before returning. The panel also recommends that athletes be required to receive a flu shot.
Fort Smith Public Schools Athletic Director Michael Beaumont said the health and safety of everyone involved in sports remain priority No. 1.
"I'm an athletic director, and I've got no teams to direct," Beaumont said. "For six or seven weeks, we've been reacting to what's coming out of the White House, and that trickles down to the governor's office and then to the AAA. We have to be careful.
"Maybe by June or July we can return to some type of normalcy, but we should tread lightly because I have to consider the health of not only our players but our coaches and staff as well."
The panel recommended the elimination of out-of-state travel when possible, and for passengers to wear masks on bus trips.
Har-Ber and Bentonville West each have nonconference football games scheduled against out-of-state teams. Har-Ber is scheduled to travel to McKinney, Texas, on Aug. 28 to open the season.
"We're scheduled to play at home against Mansfield (Texas) Legacy on Aug. 28," Pratt said. "If out-of-state travel is eliminated then, all of a sudden, we're left without a game during Zero Week."
Southside Batesville football Coach Kenny Simpson is optimistic there will be a 2020 football season, but he admits preparing for the season is a challenge.
Last year, Simpson began distributing water bottles to his players and had water donated to the program. He said that may be a permanent plan for the Southerners now that UAMS recommends every player has his own water bottle.
Jonesboro Coach Randy Coleman said he and his staff have put together multiple plans on what to do with their football team this summer. He said his team may go into phases of nine or less players during workouts.
"But it's a tough proposition," Coleman said. "We have 110 kids in our program."
Democrat-Gazette staff writer Jeremy Muck contributed to this report.
Sports on 05/14/2020