LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As uncertainty surrounds fall high school sports in Kentucky with hopes to start seasons on time, St. Xavier High School head football coach Kevin Wallace thinks a familiar message rings truer now more than ever.
"You talk to them about being on the field and responding to adversity the right way," Wallace said. "It's no different."
The Tigers and other teams continue to go through voluntary workouts while the Kentucky High School Athletic Association works out a plan. Right now, the KHSAA has recommended a limit of six hours per week per student-athlete for these sessions, which are non-contact and limited to groups of 50 people or less. Mandatory tryouts and practices can't be held until August 3.
That might mean a later start for a season, as high school football games are scheduled to begin on August 21, but DeSales High School head football coach Harold Davis said it doesn't mean a change in approach.
"We just have to act like there's going to be a season and prepare as if there's going to be one," Davis said. "We're going to have to probably follow the same protocol we had before. So many days of practice with just helmets, so many days of practice in shells, so many days in full gear."
"If you've done your job in terms of your meetings and the time that you've been given to this point, I think it's not a matter of knowing what to do as it's just making sure our bodies are ready for the contact," Wallace said.
No matter what ends up happening, the game plan for both coaches is to keep preaching positivity.
"I think Kentucky's doing a good job as far as keeping it under control and hopefully they come up with a plan where we can have a season, whether it can be limited with games or all that," Davis said. "If we start late, that's fine."
"I don't think I could come to work and try to motivate our young men if I wasn't optimistic," Wallace said. "We're going to remain confident. We're going to remain optimistic that we're going to play and we're going to handle things the right way to make sure that we're not the reason that we don't play."
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