How creative solutions have kept high school sports going in the pandemic
Darryl Nance was watching his local school board meeting in Greenville, South Carolina, via Zoom last year when it dawned on him just how challenging the days ahead would be.
鈥淚n back-to-back speakers,鈥� he says, the school district was called 鈥渓iars [for] exaggerating the impact of COVID鈥� and liars for supposedly 鈥渦nderreporting the number of positive [cases] and the impact of COVID in our schools.鈥澛�
As the director of athletics for the district, he would have to navigate what was shaping up to be another culture war battlefront 鈥� whether to play high school sports during a pandemic.
Why We Wrote This
Despite the often-raucous debates over pandemic protocols in schools, high school athletic directors have quietly been finding ways to keep students in the game.
He was hardly alone in that struggle last year, as athletic directors (ADs) nationwide faced a similar dynamic.
A year on, the nation remains divided over how best to respond to COVID-19. But in the arena of high school sports at least, ADs are finding some common ground with those who disagree about how to take steps forward. The reasons vary by community, but the result is prompting healthy discussion.
One thing almost everyone agrees on: the need to get kids playing sports again. And that shared objective creates an environment for creative solutions.
In St. Louis, that means creating a task force to improve communication between schools and the health department. And in Greenville County, South Carolina, it鈥檚 encouraging kids to show more responsibility. Whatever shape it takes, people are finding ways to work together and find solutions that respect all.
Playing in St. Louis
In the summer of 2020, the St. Louis County Health Department moved to shut down high school athletics.
Pressure to reverse that ruling came in several forms, including a Let Them Play group composed mostly of frustrated parents who rallied and demanded that lawmakers get kids back on the field.
Jen Brooks, the athletic director at Ursuline Academy in St. Louis, felt there was a better way to move forward than protests. 鈥淲hile I can appreciate the Let Them Play parents and their efforts, they鈥檙e not in the thick of it and don鈥檛 know what an athletic program needs to run successfully,鈥� she says.
So Ms. Brooks formed a task force with several other athletic directors in the St. Louis area and asked to meet with the county health department. One of those ADs was Brian Kessler of Parkway West High School, a large public school in Ballwin.
鈥淲e met with the health department to try and understand where they were coming from,鈥� Mr. Kessler says. Rather than taking an adversarial approach, Ms. Brooks, Mr. Kessler, three other public school ADs, two doctors, and two representatives from the youth sports sector began talking about how they might move forward.
Then the question was simply, 鈥淗ow can we get kids to play?鈥� Ms. Brooks says.
The answer came in a new set of protocols everyone could agree to.
Early on, things were hard. Katie Hingle, a teacher in the Kirkwood School District and mother of three, remembers her daughter鈥檚 freshman softball season at Ursuline Academy. 鈥淚t was condensed to two weeks, then right into district playoffs 鈥� and the girls were only allowed two people [per player] in the stands.鈥�
But she was just happy her daughter was playing. 鈥淚n the end, we were just ... grateful that we鈥檙e sitting there watching them play what they love to do.鈥�
The task force still meets weekly to monitor the situation. But 鈥淚 feel like we鈥檝e gotten to a point that we understand our goal and our mission,鈥� Mr. Kessler says.
Students taking control
Greenville County, South Carolina, has also found its way back to high school sports, though in a very different way. As last year鈥檚 raucous school board meeting showed, the tensions between competing groups over COVID-19 data gave the district a difficult task.
Rather than choosing a side, Mr. Nance, the district AD, decided to focus on what he could control. So he鈥檚 encouraging his coaches to have the kids protect their seasons by self-policing, making sure no one takes any risks. He doesn鈥檛 tell them that鈥檚 the best way to avoid COVID-19; he says it鈥檚 the best way to preserve the season. 鈥淲e are building on these things鈥� because that鈥檚 鈥渨hat our local control looks like,鈥� he says.
Leigh Judy, an assistant football coach at Hillcrest High School in Greenville County, says his football players are stepping up and showing responsibility 鈥� and not just by following the county鈥檚 COVID-19 guidelines. 鈥淥n summer mornings when everyone is sleeping in, these kids are running in the heat, lifting weights, getting yelled at, getting pushed,鈥� Mr. Judy notes. Most people 鈥渄on鈥檛 see the sacrifice that they鈥檙e pouring into the game 鈥� and their only payoff is to play on Friday night.鈥�
Now Mr. Nance is reaching out to young athletes who got lost in the shuffle last year. A significant number of kids simply quit athletics, and Mr. Nance doesn鈥檛 know why.
鈥淢y biggest challenge this year is to find those kids,鈥� he says. If there was a seventh grader who didn鈥檛 play, we鈥檝e got to find out why they didn鈥檛 play. We have to find where they are and get them back.鈥�
It鈥檚 a teachable moment for Mr. Nance. 鈥淚 want to teach these kids how to problem solve, how to think,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to encourage them to be bold and make choices. Kids need to see that kind of leadership from us.鈥�
