Why TSSAA believes high school football, girls soccer can be played in Tennessee this fall – The Tennessean
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Brentwood football coach Ron Crawford gives pep talk to readers and athletes
Two and a half months after being quarantined, high school sports are kicking off with strict guidelines.
The details remain vague, at least publicly.
But TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress said communication with the governor’s office remains positive to allow Tennessee high school football and girls soccer teams to hold a fall season during the coronavirus pandemic.
Childress chose not to go into detail on the TSSAA’s plan, especially for contact sports like basketball, football, soccer and wrestling. The plan has not been finalized to be released to member schools.
“We feel like we have the same information and are talking to the same people that (college and professional leagues) are and getting the same advice from the experts that they are,” Childress said. “We can do it just as well as they can.
“Why not give us the opportunities to start on time? Let’s see if we can do it anyway.”
Childress said a reduction of cases is a key to returning to sports. Nashville had 5,219 active cases as of Wednesday and there were 28,516 active cases in the state as of Tuesday.
“It’s pretty much a waiting game,” he said. “What is the pandemic going to do and what are we going to do to get these numbers down?
“Cases going down would be the biggest thing, but the other thing is we are working together to develop a plan for not just the TSSAA, but to suit the governor’s office.”
Childress said the governor’s office is “very aware” of when fall seasons begin. Teams are currently allowed to have workouts as long as they follow social distancing protocols.
Football practice with contact was scheduled to begin on July 27 with games starting Aug. 21.
But Gov. Bill Lee extended an executive order to Aug. 29 that includes not allowing contact sports. If the TSSAA and Lee can’t agree on a plan, football and girls soccer would not be able to begin contract drills until Aug. 30, which would push the starts of their seasons into September.
Colleges and professional leagues have faced their struggles since returning to workouts. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have chosen to play conference-only games. The MLS has forced two teams, including Nashville SC, to withdraw from its tournament because of too many positive cases.
“We keep up with what they do,” Childress said. “But they don’t dictate what we do.”
In Iowa, high school baseball and softball have returned with minimal cases, Childress said. The Des-Moines Register has reported that 26 teams have had to quarantine after having positive cases.
But there is one glaring item that the TSSAA can’t adopt among the college and professional team plans.
High school teams can’t test weekly for cost reasons.
“Testing is the big thing that separates us from what they are able to do as opposed to what we are able to do,” Childress said. “When you hear they are going to test (college) student-athletes every week prior to competing and not just athletes, but coaches, officials and everyone involved in a contest, right now with those tests being $100 a test, we can’t ask our schools to do that.”
Childress said the TSSAA can mitigate the risk of COVID-19 exposure. That includes an increased emphasis on social distancing and temperature checks.
In football, that could mean expanding the sidelines from the 10-yard line to the other 10-yard line like Alabama’s high school association has suggested.
Normally, teams must stay from the 25-yard line to the other 25-yard line.
“We’ll be coming out with some more specific guidelines, sport-by-sport on what we feel needs to be done on things like that,” Childress said. “(Extending sidelines) may be something you see nationwide. Those are the types of modifications you can make outside of the game.”
However, crowd sizes won’t be determined by the TSSAA.
“What the governor wants to see from us more than anything is a recommendation, not a mandate when it comes to crowd control,” Childress said. “It definitely wouldn’t be a mandate from us. I don’t think we could do that.”
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.
