Reoccurring Theme:Guilford Schools put the Return to Athletic Workouts on HOLD:Monday August 3 scheduled Return to Workouts Postponed!!!(Official Statement from the Guilford County Schools/GCS)[One of the better discussions around, Check It Out]

from Joe Sirera, over at the News and Record on Twitter:

@GCSchoolsNC/Guilford County Schools:
“Will delay the start of athletics and marching band beyond Aug. 3,” Chief of Schools Tony Watlington tells high school officials in an email. No word on when fall sports workouts might begin.

from GreensboroSports.com….Are we on a Merry-Go-Round??? This is getting redundant…It has become the same old story-line, over-and-over again….

++++++++++The official statement out today/tonight from the Guilford County Schools:+++++++++++

GCS Delaying Start of Athletics and Marching Band

Greensboro, N.C. – In the interest of keeping students, families and the community safe and healthy, Guilford County Schools (GCS) will continue to delay the start of athletics and marching band beyond Aug. 3, 2020.

The district made this difficult decision after assessing current public health data and trends concerning COVID-19 in the Guilford County, where the number of hospitalizations and cases of COVID-19 continue to rise. GCS remains committed to the health of students and staff and will only allow programs to resume when it is safe to do so. To ensure students are safe, GCS will continue to monitor trends related to COVID-19 in the county and will review the NCHSAA plans as they become available.

“We were looking forward to and hopeful that we would be able to begin activities, on August 3rd,” said Leigh Hebbard, director of activities, athletics, and driver’s education, “but, we know we must keep the safety of students and staff as the priority as we make these difficult decisions.”

Current guidance from the NCHSAA includes comprehensive requirements to ensure safety of participants, including daily temperature checks and screenings of every participating student and staff member. These and other safety protocols will be implemented when the district does resume activities.

Based on the available information, GCS will establish a timeline for resuming activities, including practices and conditioning, when it is safe and appropriate.

Carolina Xperience Prep Football Showcase

22 thoughts on “Reoccurring Theme:Guilford Schools put the Return to Athletic Workouts on HOLD:Monday August 3 scheduled Return to Workouts Postponed!!!(Official Statement from the Guilford County Schools/GCS)[One of the better discussions around, Check It Out]

  1. Wonder if this will cause a number of families to enroll in charter/private schools.

  2. Not sure if the reasons correlate, but we are seeing those numbers progress already, and with the Pandemic and local schools going the Remote Learning route….

    Schools like Greensboro Day School, Wesleyan Christian Academy, High Point Christian Academy(HPCA has football and they are getting players coming their way), plus you have Caldwell Academy, Vandalia Christian School, and Shining Light Academy seeing increased numbers due to Remote Learning only, with the Guilford County Schools….

  3. @SportsFan88 If a family enrolls a student at a private school so they can play, they’d better read the fine print. The private schools can practice, but unless Gov. Cooper shifts the state to Phase Three of reopening they can’t play.

    And once you pay that private school tuition there are no refunds, even if they aren’t allowed to play games.

  4. Before I say anything I understand this is an unprecedented time in our world and we are fighting a very serious enemy with C-19. The ultimate goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

    This is Que Tucker and the NCHSAA’s ball that has been dropped by allowing each District to decide whether or not to start and stop athletic activity. This should be a statewide decision and not one left to the likes of a single district. It is ultimately their decision to play or in the fall or not. QT and the NCHSAA can learn a thing or to from our neighbors to the north (VHSL). They came up with a plan and have it writing and had the Huevos to enforce it.

    VHSL Plan
    Model 1 — Leave all sports in their normal seasons as originally scheduled with golf and cross country the only sports allowed to compete.

    Model 2 — Switch fall and spring sports (except lacrosse).

    Model 3 — Delay all VHSL sports but allow each sport to play a condensed season between Dec. 28 and June 26.

    Condensed Season Model
    Season 1 (winter) — Dec. 14-Feb. 20 with first contest date Dec. 28.

    Season 2 (fall) — Feb. 15-May 1 with first contest date March 1.

    Season 3 (spring) — April 12-June 26 with first contest date April 26.

    This gives these kids something to work for instead of looking forward to starting and then having it ripped away time and time again because the adults in the room can’t come up with a plan and enforce it.

    Now with that being said @GCSchoolsNC has done a terrible job making decisions in a timely manner. They want to keep kids, coaches and other staff safe and healthy, but they are doing a terrible job of considering these athletes mental health. Unthinkable to keep pulling the rug out from underneath at the last minute every time. Yet again, the public heard about it from the likes of Twitter and Joe Sirera around 1:30pm and nothing from the @GCSchoolsNC until 7:30p via ConnectEd.

    Don’t know who ultimately makes these decisions but I think it starts at the top and history shows since 2016 that decisions like the above have been fumbled repeatedly, from snow closings to early releases to now this.

    I feel sorry for all the students of GCS and every other district in the state, not just the athletes. These kids deserve better and between @GCSchoolsNC and the NCHSAA they have been let down repeatedly.

    In closing, as I said before this could all be avoided if the NCHSAA doesn’t put these kind of decisions in the hands of the district. Doesn’t seem right or fair that some are able to participate and some are not. I know it will come down to the Gov. decision but haven’t had much faith in him either.

    I hope all the students, teachers and school staff continue to stay safe and to let you know that you are appreciated!!

  5. I keep seeing the TV footage of teams like East Surry and Oak Grove practicing with their conditioning workouts…

    Have any of those workouts been halted???

    Above mentioned schools, and schools within their districts have been going at now for at least four weeks…

    WS/Forsyth County Schools set to get back at it on Monday….

    Are we living in different worlds???

    The NFL has been back in camp in some shape or form now for at least one week….The NFL rookies reported last week…

    No reports yet of any NFL football camps shutting down…

    The word early on was that the virus was more of a threat to adults than it is to children, and that part of the adult population is practicing on…

    How is all of this being observed and regulated?

    Seems like a football practice/workout that is highly regulated, with say 25 kids or less in small groups would be safe….

    Run the workouts twice a day, with the time in between due for cleanup and checkup, if needed or necessary…..

    Seems like we are going to have to step out and try something some day….

    I would like to think we have responsible coaches and Athletic Directors running the show in Guilford County….And to answer my own question/thought, I do think we have responsible adults coaching the football teams and running the athletic programs, in the AD capacities…

    We are going to have to step out and try some sort of return at some time…

    You have kids out there playing in Summer AAU basketball leagues all over the state with Phenom Hoops and such, and there are local baseball leagues that are right now in the process of completing 20-25 game seasons….They have been playing basketball and baseball, all Summer long…

    Football for right now, has been left holding the bag…

    How can the baseball and basketball leagues survive the entire Summer, and football does not even get to sniff the field???

  6. I did some checking, and one of the area Summer baseball teams has already played 32 games this season. Record sits at (24-8)…And they may have at least one or two games remaining on their 2020 Summer League Baseball schedule…

    That’s a pretty busy and ambitious baseball season, and they have played the games during the Pandemic….

  7. Found this comment over on Twitter, and another point-of-view…

    Steve Shaughnessy
    @Shagknight32

    If you’re a football coach in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System and you’re wondering if you’re going to play this fall. Just ask yourself.

    If they aren’t going to allow kids in school, do you really think they are going to let them play football? Just my opinion!

  8. More from Twitter:

    Grimsley Football
    @grimsleyfb
    We were scheduled to kick off the 1st official day of practice for the 2020 season with Midnight Madness tonight! Our time will come and we will be ready!

  9. High School Huddle
    @acthshuddle

    High School football and girls soccer in Tennessee will begin in August.
    Quote Tweet

    Russell Vannozzi
    @RussellV_MSP

    JUST IN: @GovBillLee(Governor of Tennessee) has signed Executive Order No. 55. High school teams can begin regular practices so long as they follow the @tssaa guidelines. That means football and girls soccer games will go on as scheduled starting the week of Aug. 17

  10. My guess is this Model 3 — Delay all VHSL sports but allow each sport to play a condensed season between Dec. 28 and June 26 is what we will end up doing. I personally think that the risk is far too great to push the envelope. One person bad mouthed the governor but would you want to be the one who made this decision? He is in a no win situation. I have been coaching HS FB for a long time and obviously love the game. My opinion is one person (player, manager, trainer or coach) dying of this disease contracted at practice is not worth the risk. As a parent I definitely would not sign a waver giving the school system immunity if my son or daughter contracted the virus while at practice. I would be interested in what these baseball teams are doing to protect the kids. Too many kids at summer camps who have gotten sick from the Covid 19 virus they picked up at camp.

  11. You can’t base the decision on your district upon what is happenning in another state. THis covid thing has multiple layers and sadly politricks plays a part. It would be nice to see one chesive standard/message across NC. Because FL or TN whoever balling does not mean it is safe and correct now. Bottom line is HS do not have the resources to guarantee safety only the pros and the power 5 college conferences can afford that. No ball in NC folks face it and accept it.

  12. @no ball

    Not basing a decision off another state for a single district. I am saying the NCHSAA can’t come up with a plan like the VHSL has done to stand by. I am saying the overall decision on whether to practice or workout or not should come from the NCHSAA. Some districts have a hard enough time making decisions for learning they don’t need, God forbid to make other decisions as well.

    I would accept the fact there isn’t going to be any ball in NC if the NCHSAA and @GCSchoolsNC would make a decision or at least have a plan and quit jerking these student athletes and coaches around.

    These are tough decisions that no one at NCHSAA wants to make so they pawn off on districts and some districts have the strong leadership to make those decision but GCS is not one of them.

  13. High School Huddle
    (Coming out of the Asheville Citizen-Times on Twitter)
    @acthshuddle

    “We get a football, well hell, 18 miles from us, they’ve got helmets on (in Tennessee and Georgia). We know people right next door to us that are preparing for a season. We seem to be light years away from them.” – Murphy coach David Gentry

  14. One more key point from Coach Dave Gentry(Murphy High School, in North Carolina)….

    “It’s not only the delay, but the not knowing what’s next,” said Gentry, 73, who has won eight state titles at Murphy and holds the state record for most career wins with 416. “We get a football, well hell, 18 miles from us(Tennessee and Georgia), they’ve got helmets on. We know people right next door to us that are preparing for a season. We seem to be light years away from them.”

  15. And we keep finding more of these nuggets….
    (In this piece by Mike Duprez from the Lexington Times-Dispatch, we read about the excitement surrounding the return of the FOOTBALL, to football practice, in North Carolina…But still NO FOOTBALL in Guilford County.)

    The NCHSAA is moving into Phase 2 of its resumption of summer workouts on Monday/Today. That means teams will be able to throw a football and hand it off, among other things.

    “That’s the best news we have had so far,” said East Davidson coach Vance Hanner. “It’s tough to practice without using a ball.”

    The players are excited, too.

    “It’s going to be an awesome feeling,” said North Davidson quarterback Tedric Jenkins. “We have been throwing in a football net in the past weeks. We can get a lot more things accomplished when throwing and handing off.”

    Under the new guidelines, sports-specific equipment must still be cleaned frequently and prior to use by another pod.

    In another change, athletes will be allowed in training rooms. An athletic trainer must be present and appropriate disinfecting must take place. In Phase 1, athletes were permitted in training rooms only in an emergency.

    But the maximum number in each pod will still be limited to 25 for outdoor activities. And that number includes coaches.

    That doesn’t appear to dampen the enthusiasm.

    “Great to finally get to throw a football,” said Oak Grove coach Mark Holcomb. “I wish they would have given a few more numbers in each pod but I think we’re at the point where we have to be happy with little victories and getting to throw a ball from one person to another is a big victory.”

  16. We’re going to get you covered up..

    More from Twitter and Hayesville, North Carolina coach
    Chad McClure, on the difficulties of having a school like Hayesville, that is so close to the Tennessee and Georgia borders…You might lose you NC kids to Tennessee and Georgia…..

    McClure said. “Living so close to the border, you worry about kids going across the line.”

    Two players from Hayesville’s varsity football team have already transferred to out of state schools, according to McClure.

    Andrews(the Andrews high school located in Western North Carolina) coach James Phillips said Aug. 3 he’s also lost a player who transferred to an out of state program.

    “It’s a balancing act between being honest with your players and not deceiving them, but also trying to keep them hopeful,” Phillips said. “I can’t hold it against players who want to have a chance to play somewhere else. We’re next to two states going full steam ahead and that’s the scary part. You can already see the holes appearing in the damn.”

  17. On a semi-related note, and this one coming in from College Football:

    Norm Wood
    @normwood…Norm Wood with the Virginian-Pilot newspaper….

    Virginia Tech Hokies coach Justin Fuente declines comment after former Tech CB Caleb Farley claims in NBC report Tech players traveled and weren’t tested after returning to Tech’s campus, and that nearly 100 players gathered without masks in open-air indoor facility….

    Caleb Farley said,
    “Guys were going home, going to Myrtle Beach, coming back to campus, and we weren’t getting tested,” Farley wrote for NBC. “We’re all together, working out, close to each other, and you have no real idea who might have it, if anybody might have it. One day I looked around, and we were like 100-deep in our indoor facility, no masks. My concern grew more and more”.

  18. Still finding “The Best Of” pieces that we need to take a look at today…

    South Carolina Senator @LindseyGrahamSC today on the Carolina-Clemson rivalry being canceled: “It’s unacceptable… we can’t let this pandemic stop this rivalry.” @abc_columbia

  19. HC ? West Forsyth
    @coachasnow

    To my coaching friends that r NOT allowed 2 do what they LOVE at this moment! After being away 4 the last 5 mths it was SWEET today! Hopefully, the higher ups understand it’s more about the relationships, than the game! Our young people need it now more than ever! #LoveCoaching

  20. Asheville High School Football
    @AHSCougarsFB

    Just received word that workouts have been suspended until after the first week of school. Heartbroken for my guys. Adversity is nothing new to this group and we will overcome! Love my guys and the work they put in this summer. Any questions please reach out to Coach Radford.

  21. East Forsyth Football
    @EFHS_Football

    Day 2(Tuesday August 4) with OL/DL!!! It is More than a GAME!!! #GRATEFUL #WillU #Together

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