AUSTIN, Texas — Two weeks ago the UIL decided to allow high school athletes back on campus for workouts. There were guidelines put out to make those workouts as safe as possible. But gathering hundreds of kids at a school at the same time makes that difficult.
“You do your best and try to prepare your best but you’re flying blind, you’re 100 percent flying blind,” says Pflugerville ISD athletic director Todd Raymond. “It’s crazy because you get over one little hurdle and there’s another one looming.”
Raymond oversees four high schools in Pflugerville ISD and that means hundreds of kids and coaches. Scott Lehnhoff can relate to the same issues as he is in charge of Steele and Clemens High Schools.
“The biggest challenge is running a quality camp and making sure our kids are benefitting while obeying UIL guidelines, state guidelines, your district and your local government,” says Lehnhoff. “Tell you what it’s been a whirlwind trying to piece meal all that stuff together.”
So far there haven't been any positive tests on their campuses, but they know cases are likely coming and they hope to be prepared.
“It’s not if something happens, and I hate saying this, it’s when,” says Raymond. “Try to contain it to a small group and quarantine that group and not have to shut down a whole group,”
“Trying to isolate in case we do have a situation that pops up and just shutting down a group of kids and maybe a staff member,” says Lehnhoff.
That type of group isolation will get more difficult as restrictions are loosened and more sport specific training can begin.
Lehnhoff describes a scenario where a player might go to three or four different groups through the workout and possible come in contact with 40 to 50 kids. Officials and coaches are trying to figure this out and be as safe as possible.
They know what it was like losing sports in the spring and have a hard time imagining that happening again this fall.
“It would take on a whole new level of sadness if we weren’t able to get some stuff done this fall,” says Lehnhoff.
“We’ve got to figure it out somehow, someway,” says Raymond. “Exhaust every avenue we can to try to get back.”
The number of Central Texas high schools that have had to stop their workouts because of someone testing positive or general COVID-19 concerns is growing daily. Confirmed schools that have paused athletic activities include Manor, Lake Travis, St. Michaels, Bowie, La Grange, and San Marcos.