Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced that, starting this past Monday, all high schools could start practice for summer sports. However, it was still at each school’s discretion whether to play or not. Following a special Board of Education meeting on May 28, count CGD among the schools that will open their season on June 15th.
It was Superintendent Dr. Robert Olson’s recommendation that the teams play, stating that the North Central Conference was planning for a season for the member schools. “We want to do the same,” said Olson. “So much has been taken away from the student-athletes, so we want to give them the chance to play. There will of course be lots of responsibilities if we do play, such as social distancing. We also need to talk about other precautions.”
According to outgoing AD Patty Sann, no other school has indicated they don’t wish to play the Cowgirls or Cowboys and that’s even with a spike in cases in the county. In addition to the guidelines listed in a previous article in the Monitor, additional precautions discussed at the meeting included: practices being closed to spectators, with parents required to stay in their vehicle and not be standing along the fences; each player using their own equipment, or sanitizing team equipment before and after use; keeping a record of temperatures and not allowing anyone over 100.4 degrees to practice or play. The local Public Health office has also assisted in formulating these precautions. For either practice or games, athletes need to stay home if they are ill.
It should also be noted that there will be no bleachers at the Cowboy field, but that is in connection with a replacement project and totally unrelated to the pandemic. Fans should remember that, at either field, there will be no concessions available and you are to bring your own seating and to please stay in family units and observe distancing requirements. “We want to do what we can to make sure everyone knows what is expected at practice and games,” said Sann. “I think we should move forward with these plans,” added in-coming AD Tim Morrison.
“We had a lot of questions, and we’re trying to play catch-up,” stated middle school principal Steve Haberman. “We can, and desire, to provide a safe and healthy environment.” There were some questions about charging to attend games, during these tough financial times, but also a comment that “We’re not sure why we would want to add another burden to people by charging.” He also is wondering about restrooms for home games.
Joe Nelson, who is the newly named superintendent starting July 1, is currently the AD for the Johnston school district and was also in attendance. “We need to teach a change in behavior,” he said. “We realize it will be a big-time change in things at the ball parks, and we’ll make mistakes and we know that. Our hope is that parents can and will coach kids up. We also have no interest whatsoever in supervisors coming to games with a tape measure to check on distancing. Our number one goal is to keep kids and families safe.” He added that, in Johnston, the plan is for 15 kids on a bus maximum for road trips and if parents want to drive their kids there they can.
Transportation director Dwight Tew stated that the school can transport and observe social distancing on the buses. They do have 55-passenger busses available. He’s not sure yet about wearing of masks, but is glad that they can at least open windows on the bus. A question is “Will we let kids ride home with parents if they ride the bus to the game?” Olson added that additional guidance would be forthcoming on transportation.
Baseball coach Nick Willwerth stated his reassurance that he and his coaching staff will follow all guidelines, and they will do what needs to be done to make sure the season happens. New softball coach Morrison stated that mistakes will be made, and that the process will be a big learning curve for everyone involved. “ We will do whatever we can to give these kids a season, and especially for the seniors,” he said. Paul Hansch, who has a senior daughter on the team, had a question on how they would handle the batting helmets. Jon Bakker suggested having the sports boosters purchase additional helmets so that there would be no need to sanitize so often. Board secretary Anita Frye stated that COVID-19 funds are available to purchase any safety equipment needed.
Dr. Olson stated that law enforcement would be around at games to at least provide a presence. “Public Health is nervous about what we do on this,” he said. “We need to make sure the athletes are distancing in the dugouts. The Association and Union both recommend an event manager to control things at the games.”
Board member Cindy Dorn would like to see masks mandated for anyone attending, but realizes that most people are asymptomatic. “I am a huge softball fan, but I also want to be safe,” she said. Olson replied he’s concerned about wearing masks during the heat of summer. Someone else stated that the mask issue would be a battle. Coaches are also worried about athletes overheating, or becoming dehydrated, due to that requirement. “Masks are a good idea, but hard to enforce,” added board president Beth Severson. “We can suggest it though.” With that, a motion was made and seconded and a vote taken. The members approved going forward, with any necessary precautions or guidelines in place, with a summer sports season. Let the games begin!
