COVID-19 has changed football forever – as it has for everyone’s lives. The problem is, COVID-19 is having a major impact on football participation, sanitation, etc, and numbers are dwindling.

Football is taking a huge hit when it comes to Covid-19 regulations and rules and it is impacting the Imagine Prep varsity and middle school football teams.

Recently, due to COVID-19 football at the Prep has been taking precautions to ensure the safety of the athletes and coaching staff. The school’s football team have been doing everything they can to ensure that this football season is successful during the pandemic. Here is an inside look at the changes the Imagine Prep football team made. 

In the beginning of this pandemic many were worried about sports. Many wondered if sports would even open. Sean Sachau, the current athletic director shared if he was hesitant to open sports back up and why he did.

“Yes, however, we are following guidance from the local authorities and monitoring the community from the metrics provided by the CDC,” Sachau said.

He also shared information about keeping spectators healthy.

“We don’t allow spectators for any of our home games,” Sachau said.

In an environment of COVID-19 school districts are taking precautionary measures to protect students inside and outside of the classroom. James Mould, an assistant athletic director of two years for the Prep, gave an insight on the rules and protocols that are being followed to help protect our student athletes. 

“We implemented a phased approach plan that included temperature checks before practice and games,” Mould said. “We had one ball per player and the coaches had gloves on. We distanced the players as much as possible, we also sterilized the footballs each practice.”

Current football player, freshman Kaden Dean, also gave an insight on how spectators and football players are kept safe.

“Less spectators for games at certain schools, players have to wear masks on buses and on the field when they take off helmets for too long,” Dean said. 

Protocol following is always important to the athletic directors. Following the protocols and rules allows the football team to continue their season without any setbacks or issues. Mould explained that when these rules are not met, the athletic directors implement  punishments.

“All the coaches are very strict that all the temperatures are being taken and making sure that the players are being honest about if they have not been social distancing,” Mould said. “If they don’t meet the requirements for the temperature check and they have been around others that haven’t been feeling well, they are sent home immediately. That goes along with all the sports. We want to make sure that we take care of all of those involved and for those who are not in the right state, they do not need to be here.”

Participating in sports offers a lot of benefits for young people. It can improve cardiovascular health, strength, body composition and overall fitness. Being social with teammates and coaches can also help in boosting mental health. 

“I think it’s important to continue with football because it gives all the players the ability to socialize and interact with each other,” Mould said. “Being able to release all the stress that society has caused is very important. It gives the players an opportunity to step away from the stress and gives them a chance to do something they really love.”

During COVID-19 while we are learning to adapt to new ways of learning and shopping and living, it’s nice to have the ability to be able to have some consistency with playing sports.