ST CHARLES, Mo. — There were plenty of smiles to go around the college football world as programs were finally able to begin their summer programs, but the questions surrounding high school sports remain.
“Schools are allowed to do whatever their local health officials have put in place,” Missouri State High School Activities Association communications director Jason West said when talking about summer workouts.
For some schools, workouts started last week. For other schools, like Francis Howell, they have nearly a month before they’ll see their players in person.
“You know if you eliminate a whole month, like some of our opponents I know had the green light June 1, so I think there’s a disadvantage there for us,” Francis Howell head coach, Brent Chojnacki said.
But the coach said he won’t make any excuses, they will pick up some type of virtual practices in the time being to cover the mental aspect.
Meanwhile, MSHSAA is still trying to figure everything out. West said their plan is to start the fall season when the school year starts like normal.
“We totally understand. It’s not just the students that want to play, it’s the officials that want to officiate and the coaches that want to coach, it’s the parents that want to cheer on their students,” he said.
But the most difficult part of this process is the constant change and updates surrounding the coronavirus.
“So, as soon as one plan is formatted and put in place, we think it can be implemented and then something else comes up and changes that,” explained West.
MSHSAA said it's looking into every scenario that may occur this season, but at the end of the day, the CDC and local health officials will have the final word.
“A lot of these decisions are going to be based on what is allowed at the local level,” said West.
