‘We want to be as safe as possible’: Horry County high school coaches eye players’ return
The waiting game caused by COVID-19 is nearly over for Grand Strand area sports programs – and the coaches can’t wait to get started.
With the shutdown of schools and quarantine to help suppress the curve of the coronavirus, sports programs at areas high schools have fallen behind their normal schedules and are still unsure about the future. Conway football coach Carlton Terry said the waiting is worth it to maintain safety.
“We’ve tried to stay positive throughout the time,” he said. “This pandemic is bigger than football and we’ve had to remind our players and staff about that. When you’re dealing with life-or-death situations, sports aren’t even a blip on the radar.”
During the extended time away from his players, Terry has made it a point to reach out and continue communications via phone and teleconferencing software, hoping to eliminate much of the learning curve that his players would have once they return to the practice field.
“We’ve done virtual meetings with our players to install our offense and defense,” he said. “We’re trying to get them as ready as we can be so that we can focus on getting in playing shape and get ready for a season. It’s going to be important to get everybody back to school to get to work.”
The South Carolina High School League governs high school sports and has laid out guidelines for returning to practice. While SCHSL has given direction, it is up to the school districts to implement a plan around Phase 1 – conditioning and weightlifting – to kick-start the return of fall sports. As part of Phase 1, coaches can gather with up to nine players on campus for group work, but must follow safety protocols including temperature checks before practice and social distancing as much as possible.
Usage of hand sanitizer and cleaning oft-touched equipment are also key points of Phase 1.
On the volleyball court, the time lost cannot be made up, says St. James coach Katie Davis.
“Last summer I had the girls training twice a week in June, and three times a week in July. It was a great time for us to fine tune skills and lay a foundation to build the rest of the season around,” she said. “Now, with COVID and the current restrictions, we are missing out. Phase 1 of restarting sports stated that I can have nine girls at a time and no ball. Last summer at this point I was averaging 30-40 girls at the workouts and we really got to break down each skill to better our program. … Losing all of May and most of June is tough.”
In addition to football and volleyball, other fall sports include cross country, tennis, golf, swimming, and soccer.
Leaving the decision up to individual districts can give an advantage to some areas where cleaning supplies and signage are at the ready. Some schools in the Midlands have already returned to practice, while the Grand Strand plans to come back June 22, depending on when supplies are delivered to schools and the district allows activities.
“We may be a little bit behind some of the Florence (County) schools that could start before us,” Terry said. “But, we want to be as safe as possible when we come back. Waiting a little bit longer won’t hurt us as long as our players are doing what they need to do to be ready to come back.”
Some ideas for returning to school and school-related functions, including sports, have included running buses at 50 percent capacity and not allowing fans to attend sporting events. Both Davis and Terry saw these as big challenges for their teams.
“We have an amazing student section at St. James. The atmosphere that they create is a complete home-court advantage,” Davis said. “I think that taking fans away will create a neutral setting, which takes away an underdogs atmosphere.”
Terry sees disallowing fans as a negative for the whole of Conway.
“I think people are ready to see some live sports,” he said. “Football is big in Conway and we want to play in front of our fans. With their support, we’re able to travel and do the things we need to do to keep our program running, so not having them there would really hurt us.”
The Horry County School Board is scheduled to virtually meet on Monday.
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 2:04 PM.
