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The high school football season has been in question for months. In March when a worldwide pandemic was announced, during the summer when no workouts were allowed, and even in July when CIF announced its altered calendar, the season was in question.
As we approach November, it’s still in question. The only difference is the season’s start date is getting closer and there isn’t enough road to kick the can down. If things aren’t better by mid-December, CIF will have to cancel games, not postpone them.
If you’ve ever watched the game show Family Feud, you know how host Steve Harvey presents each question before asking: “We surveyed 100 people…”
I surveyed 40 local high school football coaches on how they feel about the upcoming season now that they’re six weeks away from CIF’s first official practice date of Dec. 14. The survey included two yes-or-no questions and one multiple-choice question.
This is the part when Harvey turns to the board and yells, “Survey says…”
The Questions & Results
1. Will high school football start on time?
Reponses: 21 yes; 19 no
2. If/When football is played, will all schools participate?
Responses: 10 yes; 30 no
3. How many weeks (minimum) do you need to safely prepare for a full-contact football game?
Responses: Four coaches said they’d need two weeks; nine coaches said three weeks; and 27 coaches said four weeks of preparation (minimum) would be needed before first game.
Not all answers are created equal. Some answers come from private school coaches who have been allowed to hold conditioning workouts that follow county health guidelines for 10 weeks.
“We’ve been on the field for seven weeks,” Notre Dame Sherman Oaks coach Joe McNab said. “It’s hard to play football and be socially distant. We took a week off because things were getting monotonous. Now we’re back.”
Other answers are from public school coaches who received the green light from their districts to start conditioning a couple weeks ago.
“I know I’d need at least four weeks of (full) practice before we played a game,” Westlake coach Tim Kirksey said. “Right now, all we are working on is joint injury prevention. Going full speed under stress without the proper preparation is dangerous. We are seeing it at the college and pro level.”
POLL: How do you see high school sports playing out in California this school year?
-Notable CIF ‘Fall Sport’ start dates-
Football: Jan. 8
GVBALL: Dec. 19
BVBALL: Dec. 12
BWP: Dec. 21
GWP: Dec. 28
XC: Dec. 26— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) October 26, 2020
Some area coaches haven’t set foot on a field with their players since the pandemic started, and that goes for most of the City Section teams. Kennedy second-year coach Troy Cassidy led the Cougars in 2019 to their first winning season since 2009, but he hasn’t seen his players in person since March.
“The consistency of getting them to show up on Zoom calls is difficult,” said Cassidy. “It’s also hard to keep them accountable with paperwork, waivers and things because there is no consequence. They aren’t playing football anyway.”
The Los Angeles Unified School District presented a tentative timeline for athletics to resume conditioning on Nov. 2, but that’s looking highly unlikely. The further the start date of conditioning is pushed back, the less time programs have to prepare their athletes safely for a full-contact game.
The optimism level of a football coach doesn’t weigh much. But the anxiety of coaches, players and parents is building as neighboring states play football and host other youth sporting events, like basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball showcases and tournaments.
The answers lie with the leaders of the state. Until the guidelines allow for full-contact competition, it won’t matter if a football program is private, charter or public. That’s what coaches are guessing on more than anything when answering the survey questions, if the powers that be will allow full activity in time for a full football season.
One local coach was adamant that until entities like amusement parks such as Disneyland — a money-making machine — and places of worship are open, there’s no chance for high school sports — that it’s too low on the totem pole. Another coach said he believes football games won’t be played until students are back in the classroom.
Both might be right, but both hope they’re wrong.
