High School Sports
First look: SC high schools hold first on-campus sports workouts of coronavirus era
Alex Lewis and his teammates normally enter the front door of Heathwood Hall’s Lower Gym to get ready for practice.
That wasn’t the case Monday as Heathwood football players arrived at the school wearing a different kind of face mask and carrying their own water bottles for the first day of summer workouts in the coronavirus era.
High school teams in the Midlands and across South Carolina are slowly resuming on-campus workouts, which have been shut down since March because of the pandemic. The goal is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while preparing for a fall sports season that schools hope will happen on time and with minimum disruptions.
“It’s going to take some time to get used to, but that is the life we are in,” said Lewis, Heathwood’s starting quarterback. “Feels good to be out here with the guys. Hopefully, we can stay safe and healthy and keep this thing going. You miss being with the guys and our camaraderie.”
At Heathwood on Monday, football players, as well as tennis and cross country athletes, were required to enter the back of the gym to get their temperatures taken before being cleared to work out. Cones were spaced six feet apart for students to practice social distancing while in line for health screenings.
Last month, the South Carolina Independent Schools Association, which governs Heathwood and most of the state’s private schools, gave its members the option of beginning the first phase of workouts June 1.
Heathwood was of the Midlands’ four larger private schools that began summer workouts Monday along with Hammond, Cardinal Newman and Ben Lippen. Richard Winn and Northside Christian Academy, which play 8-man football, started their workouts last week.
Heathwood athletic director Jeff Whalen said the Highlanders waited the extra week to make sure all the right safety procedures were in place for the first day of workouts. Whalen was among those taking athletes’ temperatures when they arrived Monday. The school bought five thermometers for the daily temperature checks and cleaning equipment to keep things sanitized, he said.
Heathwood opted to make its weight room off-limits during the first few weeks of workouts.
“We will have a meeting on Wednesday to see how things are going,” Whalen said. “The kids have been great and so have the parents. We have had a few parents that didn’t want the kids to come to practice right away and I totally understand that. If they don’t come to practice right away, that is fine.”
Some South Carolina High School League schools also began workouts Monday, with Gray Collegiate Academy the only Midlands school to resume activities. Half of the local school districts haven’t settled on a restart date.
SCISA and SCHSL teams have many things in common with their phase one rules, including restricting the use of locker rooms; having athletes work out together in small groups known as “pods”; and not allowing the use of a ball for the first two weeks of workouts.
Gray Collegiate checked in its student-athletes in the lobby of the War Eagles’ athletics building and went through safety protocols that included taking temperatures. Signage and on-floor markers promoted social distancing.
The school also upgraded the quality of its hand sanitizer to better guard against the coronavirus. Players can only enter the building through the front and exit out the back to avoid mingling with athletes from other pods.
Two pods are on campus at the same time. Weightlifting happens inside while others condition outside. The inside workouts take longer because weight machines are cleaned after each usage.
”Everybody’s got masks,” Gray Collegiate football coach and athletic director Adam Holmes said. “We’ve been giving out masks if they didn’t have them. Most of them did a good job bringing theirs. We have water for them. Everybody brought their own water jugs so we’re not sharing bottles.”
Only Gray’s fall sports are working out this summer: football, volleyball, cross country and competitive cheer. Football goes first, with workouts starting at 7 a.m. and pods rotating through weights and conditioning until everyone is done just before noon.
This time a year ago, a War Eagles football workout would take about two hours with all 35 to 40 players together. Now it’s a nearly five-hour process in order to adhere to health guidelines.
”It feels good. We’ve been off for two months,” said Chris Rhone, a Gray senior at safety and receiver. “It feels good to get back on the field with coaches and build new bonds with new guys.”
Heathwood football coach Danny Lewis said the school’s coaches and administration have been going over scenarios for about six weeks for what the first day of workouts would look like.
On the football field, Heathwood had four pods of players separated by SCISA’s recommended 25 yards, with one coach per group. Each group started in 15-minutes intervals and, after a 90-minute workout, athletes were asked to go directly to their cars and leave..
Kids were required to wear masks when they weren’t working out. Whalen said coaches weren’t required to wear masks outside, though it was recommended. Lewis went to Lowe’s and bought an extra 100 masks in case anyone forgets theirs.
“You are so excited to see the guys. Haven’t seen them in three months,” Lewis said. “Want to make sure that we are doing it the right way and make sure we get to do it again.”
Lewis said he hopes things will continue to run smoothly and that there won’t be any stoppage for workouts. A lot of that will depend on the spread of COVID-19 as states continue to loosen restrictions.
On Monday, state health officials reported 542 new cases of the virus, pushing the state’s overall total of infections to 14,800. In the last week, South Carolina had four days with more than 300 cases announced, two with more than 400 and two with more than 500.
“Uncharted territory. None of us have ever been through this,” Danny Lewis said. “A lot of what-ifs. What if a kid tests positive? What if it rains — where would you put them? We just have to stay in football position with our heads on a swivel and be willing to adjust.”
Getting back on the field
A look at when Columbia-area high schools will begin summer workouts:
▪ SCISA schools — June 1
▪ Kershaw County and Fairfield County — June 15
▪ Newberry County — June 22
▪ Richland 1 — TBD
▪ Richland 2 — June 29
▪ Lexington 1 — June 15 (Fall sports); June 22 (Winter sports); June 29 (Spring sports)
▪ Lexington 2 — June 22
▪ Lexington 3 — June 15
▪ Lexington 4 — June 22
▪ Lexington-Richland 5 — June 22
▪ Saluda County Schools - June 22
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