Following the MIAA’s announcement that the start of fall sports will be pushed back to September 14, coaches around the North Shore are now scrambling to see what to do next. For high school football, the first sport to start practices every fall season, it’s going to be an adjustment.
“Sitting back these past few weeks and watching football in other states get canceled or pushed way back, it’s been a nervous time for all of us,” said Revere football coach Lou Cicatelli, who has been at the helm of the Patriots for 19 years. “We all know it’s going to be tough getting back out on the field, and right now it’s all just a waiting game for us.”
“At this point, I know we’re all just anxious and a little excited for the prospects of a football season,” said Fenwick football coach Dave Woods, who will be coaching the Crusaders for his 22nd year. “Obviously we all understand the date getting pushed back is in the best interest of everyone involved, and we’re hoping that we can continue to progress toward having a season.”
The September 14 start date means that teams cannot hold any team practices until that date, and teams must practice for at least 12 days before holding their first game. That means that the first football games of the year won’t come until the end of September at the earliest — taking away the entire first month of the season.
“It’s going to be a big adjustment, there’s no way around it,” said Cicatelli, who has also been a teacher for over 30 years. “The biggest thing is being careful. The guys can workout together and all that, but they still have to social distance and be safe. We’ve been in contact with the guys and sent them workout plans and things like that, but that’s all we can do for now. The guys have been working out amongst themselves and that’s been going well.”
Woods, who has also served as the athletic director at Fenwick since 2009, is comfortable in knowing that he has a veteran group that knows what’s expected as they return from a trip to the Division 6 Super Bowl in 2019.
“We have a very senior-heavy, veteran group coming back this year,” said Woods. “Those guys have been working out and in terms of physically, once we’re given the go-ahead to get back together, I think that all of the guys will be ready. Normally you would like to keep the team together to build camaraderie and leadership, but again we’re very lucky in that we have a veteran group that has been together for awhile now.”
But in this time of wild speculation on what might happen for football this fall, there’s almost no scenario that seems out of the realm of possibility. Late Tuesday night, the state of Washington announced that football would be moved from fall to spring to add more time to control the pandemic.
“I don’t think anything is off the table at this point,” Woods said about the prospects of spring football. “I think logistically it would be very tough to add in another spring sport because that could strain smaller programs. But at the same time, I think the MIAA is going to discuss all possibilities.”
“I’ve been hearing a lot about it and I think at this point the MIAA has to look at all options,” said Cicatelli. “At the end of the day, I’m a football coach and if you’re saying we can have a season if we play in spring, then I’ll take it. But there’s a lot of different things that could happen.”
For now, coaches will continue to push ahead however they can as they await more guidance from the state on the future of fall sports.
