High school football coaches and players are in a holding pattern.
Teams around the state are left wondering whether spring practice will be allowed to move forward or if the Alabama State Department of Education and the Alabama High School Athletic Association opt to shut it down.
The decision was made last week (March 17) to shut down schools for 2.5 weeks due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which forced the cancellation of spring sports events during that period.
On April 6, when schools are scheduled to re-open, another decision will be made about whether to shut down classes and sports for the year or proceed with caution. The University of Alabama, Shelton State and Stillman College all canceled their spring sports seasons, and classes are being instructed online.
"We are just waiting until further notice on what school is going to look like, whether thats return on April 6 or be out for the remainder of the school year," first-year Central High football coach Rodney Bivens Jr. said. "Everything is just basically up in the air."
Bivens said the Falcons planned to have spring practice the last week of April and the first week of May. Now hes not sure what will happen or if the Falcons will be able to do anything this spring.
"Once we get notification from the higher ups we will have a better thought process as what specifically well be able to do with the players and what we will not be able to do with the players," Bivens said. "Right now theres no conditioning, no weight training. There is nothing we can do with our student athletes on campus or off campus. We really arent able to do anything with the players at this moment."
Hillcrest coach Sam Adams is in the same boat. He said it doesnt make sense to make a schedule with all the uncertainty. For now, hes just waiting for further instructions.
"Now we dont really know what that schedule is going to look like. Its obviously going to change a little, if its not completely canceled. It just depends on what the state and the AHSAA tells us what we can do," Adams said. "We are kind of building the bridge as we cross it. There really is no point in trying to get all the plans ironed out right now."
Adams and Bivens have been giving their players some workout instructions during the break. Its not the same as the team being together in the weight room or on the field, but its the best they can do.
"We have an app called team builder," Adams said. "That sends out the workouts on a daily basis. That helps us out a little bit. All players have access to that. They get sent a body weight workout every day -- stuff they can do out in the yard, running down the street or wherever they can do it. Hopefully they are still getting some work in. Its not going to be the same as being in the weight room, and we dont have someone there to hold them accountable for that. They do have access to some sort of organized plan."
Adams said the Patriots have hit the weight room hard the last few weeks before the shutdown, but the loss of time could be a hindrance down the road.
"You start extending that to three, four or five weeks, you run the risk of losing a lot of the gains you made over the last several months," Adams said.
There is the loss of spring practice to consider, which Adams is preparing for. Should spring drills be canceled, Adams and the Patriots coaching staff will try to do as much work that is allowed in the summer to prepare for the fall.
"What I am doing is getting everything organized as if we wont have spring practice at all," he said. "That would change our summer routine to get a little bit more on the field time to get in some of the teaching time that we missed. There is no way they would let us practice in the summer in pads. If we dont get to go through spring practice we will miss all the contact, but we would try to make sure we have everything taught the same way we would have had we gone through spring practice. We just wont have as many live reps."
There is still hope for spring practice to continue, depending on what the ASDE and AHSAA decide. But there is also a chance that the fall season could be affected, which folks in Alabama dont want to even consider.
"Football is important but its not the most important thing during times like these," Adams said. "I just hope everyone is doing what they are supposed to to get this thing over with as quickly as possible to where we dont have to lose time in the summer or even in the fall.
"Depending on what you are reading, some folks are giving a pretty bad forecast down the road for this thing. At this point its just a lot of adjusting on the fly for everyone in the country."
Said Bivens, "its a waiting game for everybody. We will just sit by the phone and wait to hear what the next step will be."
Reach Edwin Stanton at 205-722-0226, edwin.stanton@tuscaloosanews.com or via Twitter, @edwinstantonu2
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