Start your engines??

Imagine if at the start of the Indianapolis 500 the announcer said, “Gentlemen start your engines!! But, keep them in neutral until we are really, really sure we can begin the race.”
That is basically what the LHSAA told coaches and players across the state when the governing body of Louisiana high school athletics sent out a recent memo setting October 8 as the start date of the gridiron season.
Even with the new date set, there are still factors that will drive the decision to allow teams to take their “cars” out of neutral and give them a spin around the track. For example, the state must move from Phase II to Phase III in its recovery plan.
Once that occurs, the LHSAA has said it will petition the state to allow football teams the ability to include contact in both inter-squad and intra-squad competition.
High school football and coaches and players across the state, including those in Evangeline Parish, are excited that a date to begin has been established. However, those same coaches now have to adjust their pre-season plan to accommodate the extended time between now and the start of the season.
“I think the decision to set a date should have happened a long time ago,” stated Ville Platte High head coach Jorie Randle. “But, kudos to them for at least putting a date out there that we can work toward.”
“In my head it is almost like we are in spring training mode,” Randle continued. “These next six weeks, more than any other time, we will have more chalk talk than normal. For us, I think we are going to approach the next few weeks like spring and then amp up the practices about three week before the season begins.”
For Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper, the extended time will allow for his squad to continue getting their bodies ready for play come October.
“We are treating this time like it was the end of June,” commented Harper. “We are going to continue conditioning and as we get closer to the start date, then we will approach it like the end of summer and begin implementing our offensive and defensive systems at a more rapid pace.”
The memo, issued on August 7, also included recommended COVID-19 guidelines to implement during 2020 fall sports events. For football in particular, those guidelines addressed areas such as social distancing on the sidelines, scrimmages/jamborees, and practice/game protocols.
Some of the game protocols that have to be implemented include the required use of masks for referees, coaches and players (except when they are in the game}, the sanitization of the game ball during play, the appropriate safety precautions in the use of mouthpieces and the way to handle post-game team meetings.
Handling the new protocols will definitely be a challenge coaches throughout the state must focus on.
“The hardest part for coaches is making sure that they all have their water bottles to keep hydrated and making sure they all have their face masks on when they are not on the field,” stated Basile High head coach Kevin Bertrand. “We are going to have to adjust and do what we’re asked to do. We will make it through this and one day look back on this and say ‘You remember that 2020 season.’ I’m just ready to get things going.’
“I think there is no doubt the things that the LHSAA is asking us to do on game nights will have to be something that is practiced before the season starts,” said Harper. “On those Thursday walkthroughs, you are going to have to simulate what a game day sideline is like. Getting used to taking the helmet on and off with the mask, social distancing of players are all things that we are going to have to get used to.”
For now, the biggest concern for the coaches will be not to let complacency and boredom set in with the players. Keeping the athletes focused is going to need some coaching savvy.
“Right now the kids are little more relaxed than they would be at this time because they are not getting fussed at as much,” Randle said with a chuckle. “But, with the situation as is, coaches are going to have to be creative and innovative in the way we do football.”
According to Bertrand, goals and short practices for the next few weeks will be key.
“The longest practice we have had in the last two weeks has been about an hour and a half,” said Bertrand. “There is no reason to stay out there any longer, especially being two months from the season. Right now we are setting smaller goals in order to reach the bigger goal. Honestly, the players are motivating themselves.”