As COVID-19 continues to be a threat, high school athletic programs have been faced with tough decisions regarding how to deal with the outbreak. 

This is true for the Redhawk football team, as head coach Matt Swinnea tackles the task of planning a football season under UIL guidelines. 

“Practice right now doesn’t like anything and part of that is that we’re under the obligation of our COVID protocol that are set first by the UIL and then FISD works out what we need to do as far as player safety and things like that,” Swinnea said. “Among other things, we haven’t opened up the locker rooms since March, players have to bring their own water, we temperature test daily, we wear masks almost 100 percent of the time, practice social distancing, and so just a ton of things are different with regards to how we’re doing things right now.”

Swinnea has coined a special phrase to explain his challenges from COVID-19.

“I think the biggest challenge is how often things change,” Swinnea said. “I said with the coaches that there’s kind of a new term I’m using, it’s ‘covid concrete’. Meaning that we have a plan but that plan may change and so there’s so many things that are moving pieces. As coaches, naturally we like to plan and have things set up, and we’ve done things certain ways for forever and it’s all different and so, just being flexible and fluid, and, you know, one of the code words these days is ‘pivot’, just be able to change directions.”

Unpredictable, season is up in the air, causing low team morale. 

“With us pushing the season back, just not burning out and trying to keep things as fresh as possible, getting the work in but still maintaining a sense of fun,” Swinnea said. “So when you’re working hard in the sun, it’s hard to find some fun but since we’re able to compete against each other and honestly since everybody’s just finally to get out and uh be around each other, that’s been a big boost.”

Nevertheless, Swinnea is keeping a positive mindset on the team having a season.

“It’s gonna be different, but the big thing is for the opportunity for the guys to play, for all the sports to play, I think it’s gonna be there,” Swinnea said. “It’s gonna be different for the fans you know, sporting events are not gonna be the social event that they have been. This year, just being able to play, it’s gonna happen, it’s just gonna look different.”