HornetFan

Does the FHSAA have the authority to move the start date of the Fall football season, or is the start date of the season determined by local county governments based upon if and when they allow schools to re-open? Is it possible we could see one county opening schools and allowing Fall sports while a neighboring county goes strictly off-line and prohibits Fall sports? Would we then see a mass migration of athletes from one county to their neighboring county?

I agree this discussion is moving in a direction that should be addressed off topic and I'd be happy to address the question off topic.

One thing I learned from living a few years in Virginia, is that everything that happens there is controlled by Northern Virginia politics. The rest of the state is stuck with decisions that are seen unfavorably in the rest of the state. Right now, Virginia is controlled by Northern Virginia Democrats. You can't expect them to allow football anytime before the November election. I'd be surprised if they allow students to physically attend schools before November. Sorry for the political answer, but Virginia is firmly entrenched in the strategy of disruption through the November election.

I believe the CFYFL finished their Spring season toward the end of May or beginning of June. My grandsons have moved on the HS football, so I don't stay up to date as much on CFYFL. Pop Warner changed their weight requirements because they were losing players to leagues like CFYFL and AAU. The bigger kids were being forced out of Pop Warner. Also, fewer parents are allowing their kids to play tackle football.

It's beginning to look like there may not be state finals in football this year. Dade, Broward, and Palm counties have been hit harder by the virus than other counties throughout the state. They may delay the start of their season and restrict travel out of their immediate area. The players do't need state playoffs. The schools can play local schedules and have county or regional championships if necessary. The important thing is that if at all possible, these kids get to play. Seniors lost their Spring practice, their Spring games, college Summer camps and visits, all very important events in the college recruiting process. For many of these kids, football was their only way to afford a college education. We shouldn't allow politics or labor unions to decide if these kids get a college education.

The CFYFL is just like Pop Warner except they don't have weight restrictions. As they state, "they let the big boys play". They play 11 on 11. Both my grandsons played for the Oviedo Knights for several years, both in the Spring and in the Fall. They have teams throughout Central Florida and just like Pop Warner, they have always played on high school fields or city stadiums. They may have had to use other fields this past Spring season if local high schools closed their fields, but they played..

Schools can afford to temperature check each player before every practice and game. All you need are a couple of the no-contact thermometers. If a player exceeds a pre-determined temperature, he sits. If he exhibits other symptoms, test the kid and have him sit out until he gets his results back. If he has covit-19, he quarantines until he tests negative. Same procedure for coaches. These kids have been playing football with each other since this virus shut down the schools; the shutdown only gave them more time to socialize and practice together, and they weren't being tested. If you shut football down, these kids will still play without supervision.

There are businesses all over this country that temperature check their employees each day before they can go to work. They require the employees to use hand sanitizer frequently and they practice social distancing in their establishments. Schools can do the same in the classroom, including requiring masks at all times. They can even put a plastic shield on each teacher's desk.if the kids are going to contract the virus, it will most likely be in the classroom from another kid that may be asymptomatic. Football players have been practicing in groups without coaches since schools were closed in March. They have not been wearing masks or practicing social distancing. They have been playing informal 7v7 games against other groups, all without adult supervision, and still we haven't heard of any serious outbreaks among teenagers. With supervised practices and games, adults can assure that players on the sidelines social distance and wear masks if deemed necessary. They don't need fans in the stands, but if limited to immediate family members, social distancing in the stands would not be difficult. These kids are going to play football this Fall; it can be organized and controlled by adults or they'll play pickup games among themselves, but they're going to play. If our government leaders and politicians can justify thousands of people protesting in the streets, shouting and spraying fluids all over the place, they can surely figure a way for 22 teenagers to play a game of football on a 40 by 100 yard football field. Take the politics out of this and let the kids play.

The reason they want to reopen schools this Fall is so parents can go back to work. Also, it has been almost universally agreed upon that on-line schooling has been a total disaster. My grandsons, both honor students in a Central Florida high school, have participated with on-line schooling this past semester and their opinion is "why bother if this is the best you can offer". A good percentage of students have not even participated. If they don't reopen the schools, I would rather see them defund the schools, lay off the teachers, and rebate our school taxes; not that I expect that would ever happen. Kids belong in school. The CFYFL, one of the the youth tackle football programs in Central Florida, recently completed their Spring football season (5 or 6 games per team, pus playoff game) with no reported Covid-19 infections. Maybe the FHSAA should contact them and see how they did it successfully.

Seminole County allowed teams to start practicing a couple of weeks ago; I haven't heard of any Covid-19 infections reported by high school football teams in Seminole to date. Teams in Orange County returned this week to official practice, but most kids in Central Florida have been practicing without coaches for the last couple of months. We didn't get a spike in cases until irresponsible young adults hit the bars and clubs in force when the bars re-opened. The big spike has been in the 21-35 year old age groups. They are currently testing about 80,000 people a day in the state of Florida; that's over four times as many a day as they were testing two months ago. Doctors and scientists have reported that infections in young adults have been less severe with a small percentage requiring clinical or hospital care Most young adults have been asymptomatic or mildly effected. If cities can allow thousands of protesters to fill the streets, standing in close proximity to each other, with little concern of the virus spreading, the FHSAA should be able to figure out how to put 22 kids on a 40 by 100 yard football field. The schools opening and sports being played has become a political football leading up to the November elections,, as well as a showdown between teachers who want to remain home and parents who want to send their kids to school so the parents can return to work. Teachers, coaches, officials, and others who may be at greater risk of infection may just have to sit it out this school year until a vaccine is found or they feel confident about returning. Special consideration regarding their pay during their time away may have to be put in place as the Federal government has done in the recent past. Kids need to be in school and they deserve to play sports.

The cost of testing is the least of their problems. You don't get results for several days, so testing on game day won't work. Temperature testing at the gate would help, but not guarantee against an infected individual attending, perhaps even unknown to that individual. The kids deserve to play football this Fall or Winter, whichever timeframe is decided. This year's rising seniors have missed Spring practice and their Spring game; they've missed college camps and visits this Summer because campuses are closed. For many, this was their big opportunity to impress college coaches and secure scholarship offers. If there is no football season. many of these kids will not be going to college; that's a tragedy and the FHSAA has to take that into consideration when deciding when and if football will be played this year. You don't need fans at the games. It could be limited to players' families only, with face masks and social distancing requires. As I suggested in an earlier post, sell videos of the game to make up for lost revenue. These kids deserve to play.

You should read my post again; I did not say that protests were the leading reason for the increase in positive tests. However, I'm sure they were a contributing factor, along with the bars and clubs, and as you said people wanting to escape the heat in Florida and staying in airconditioned spaces and practicing CDC guidelines. Also, the state of Florida has been testing about 80,000 people a day since the spike started. It's highly probable that the increase in positive tests is also the result of those who have been careless seeking tests. It's a combination of several different areas of careless behavior. Cities and counties have the ability to limit or prohibit protests. The protest gatherings are required by law to have permits; city officials have chosen to look the other way for political reasons. The mayor of Seattle finally decided that he protest in her city was an illegal gathering. Having most protesters wear masks doesn't prevent the virus from being spread by those not following CDC guidelines. I have seen some college football conferences stating that bands and cheerleaders may not be able to attend games. There's also the suggestions of limited or no crowds in the stands. Face shields could be required of all players just like mouthpieces are required. Most players now wear gloves when playing. There will always be a risk of players contracting the virus, but probably no greater than shopping in Publix or Home Depot. These kids are working hard to get ready for the season. They're in much better physical condition than most if not all of us. They want to play and they've earned the right to do so.

How did sports do this past Spring? They were all cancelled. If it's OK for tens of thousands of protesters to jam the streets of major cities with no social distancing and no face mask requirement, it should be possible for schools to hold football games out in the fresh air, even if it means few or no fans are allowed to attend. Games are taped and copies of such videos could be offered for sale to fans as a means of raising revenue for the schools and their athletic programs. If our Governor and State Legislature is in denial, the ultra-liberal Governor of Michigan is not the one we should be looking to for guidance. Opening bars and clubs, and allowing large protests was an open invitation to young adults to act like like idiots, and they responded as expected. The bars and pubs are now closed and should remain closed. Protest shouls be restricted in size and CDC guidelines should be enforced, just as they should at football games this Fall.

They don't list a Middle School football team on their website. Maybe the picture on their site is a few years old and the kids are further along in their school grade and development. Strictly going by the picture would appear to be leading lambs to their slaughter by playing established varsity programs.

You might continue to collect schedules with any out of state or out of area games listed as questionable. An interesting category could be games cancelled due to Covid 19, including the dates of such games, such as entire Admiral Farragut entire schedule. It could be a helpful tool for coaches trying to search out replacement games for newly open dates.

Wouldn't want to be running for re-election in Texas if high school football was cancelled.

Rockledge would be a much better game, but when searching for opponents at this stage, you just have to try and fill your schedule and hopefully not lose out on a home game.

My grandson told me Winter Park would only play Cooper City if they travelled to Orlando; Orange County schools may not approve travel to South Florida.. Another possibility is Rockledge.

Just learned from a pretty reliable source that WP has added Cooper City to their schedule to replace Delaware Valley (PA), who decided to postpone playing in Florida till next year.

I hope you're right, but they look like young kids. At best, they should be playing a Freshmen schedule, not varsity.

A big thank you to the coaches out there that serve as role models to a lot of theses kids who don't have a father active in their lives.

You're right. They list their team as a HS team, but they look like MS kids. The schools that have scheduled them are going to have to be careful not to seriously hurt them. Someone isn't being very responsible putting them against HS teams.

On their web page, their team looks like a Pop Warner team; they're young kids. https://www.tnclassical.org/athletics/

According to their Facebook page, Delaware Valley has cancelled their game with Winter Park.

Gotta admit, the venue would be perfect. No fan is too far from the field for a good view, and the seating is covered and protected from the weather. I'd take the commission, but I'm not holding my breath. I would definitely attend the games.