Returning to the Field: High school football teams adjust to new-look summer workouts ahead of season

Football coaches are creatures of habit.

They have set up in a certain way their routines, normal practice schedules, strength and conditioning programs — everything. Many high school head coaches follow the same patterns every year, with only minor tweaks along the way.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down in March, it also signaled the end of spring training for high school football teams. The normal cycle came to screeching halt.

Instead of having a few weeks in the spring to get an early look at what would be on the field in the fall, teams were relegated to virtual meetings only from March through early June.

In June, the Alabama High School Athletic Association allowed football teams to begin in-person strength and conditioning programs once again, as long as social distancing guidelines were followed.

“It’s been one of the only things to me that’s felt normal,” said Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager, who welcomed the Spartans back to campus June 1.

In terms of preparation for the fall season, the schedule did not change much. On July 23, the AHSAA announced high school fall sports would begin on time, meaning Aug. 21 would be the first game of the season for most teams.

The local football coaches made the most of the situation. Every day, prescreening was done to ensure no players exhibited symptoms of COVID-19. Masks were donned, teams were split into smaller groups, and players were spaced out as much as possible.

To Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester, the changes were just an added layer to a priority of his coaching staff already.

“We deal with safety every day, whether it’s heat illness, proper tackling, blocking and carrying the ball. Safety is always our foremost concern,” he said.

At Homewood, players must respond to a series of questions each day before they are allowed to join the team. A short questionnaire consists of yes or no queries asking if players have experienced fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or come into contact with someone with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. Temperatures are checked each day as well.

Once on campus, players are split into groups that have limited to no contact with each other.

“We’ve really been keeping our groups separate,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said. “We have not been crossing paths with each other at all. Our coaches have been rotating with our groups.”

Hewitt-Trussville asks players similar questions each day, and coach Josh Floyd said if any of those answers are yes, they are immediately sent home. Once on the field, Floyd and his staff spread the players out as much as possible. If players are able to stay more than 6 feet apart, masks can be removed for strenuous conditioning drills.

“We try to do a lot of things on the field where they don’t have to have it on,” Floyd said. “When we’re running and everything, we can spread out.”

While distancing and mask-wearing guidelines are things that players and coaches have never dealt with before, Hoover head coach Josh Niblett and his staff used the first few weeks of workouts to engrain those things into everyone’s movements.

“As humans, we always cling to each other,” Niblett said. “We’re creatures of habit, so doing that for two weeks was huge. Now they know to stay spaced out and pull their masks up.”

Masks are not likely to be required during the season for players on the field, but Vestavia Hills has made wearing them a point of emphasis during those preseason workouts.

“Although wearing a mask under your helmet is a big inconvenience, if that gives us the opportunity to practice and play, then I am all for it,” Rebels wide receiver Charlie Hughes said.

Instead of bemoaning all of the changes and adjustments to a new way of life, coaches made the most of the situation. Many of them aimed to make the new guidelines a routine as quickly as possible.

“It’s not ideal, but here’s the thing: If you handle it the right way, it’ll make you stronger,” Niblett said.

Despite the lack of spring practice and the difficulty of summer workouts, Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell still believes high school football this season will live up to the billing.

“I think you’re still going to see good, high-quality football in the fall,” Bell said.