In a meeting that focused heavily on fall sports, the Clancy School Board of Trustees discussed changes to the coming year due to COVID-19. While football was the primary concern for many who attended the meeting, cross country and volleyball were also addressed.
Clancy teacher and football coach Ryan Fetherston said sports, particularly football, was already risky, but it was also a way to inject normality into what has become a year defined by the lack thereof.
“In football, you have this inherited risk already. We have ambulances at the games no matter what because if we tackle and do it wrong you could break your neck. The worst-case scenario is death can occur no matter what with injury there,” said Fetherston during his presentation on how football would be practiced and played at Clancy.
“We’re doing sports. You’re taking a risk when you’re coming to play sports,” he said.
In the end, the Trustees voted unanimously to forge ahead with fall sports, but not without a prolonged discussion between members of the Board, Fetherston and parents.
The fall sports proposal, as presented by Fetherston, delayed the start of both volleyball and cross country to Sept. 21, with Clancy competing only with teams within the Elkhorn conference: East Helena, Boulder and Montana City. The teams would also be separated by grade level to prevent intermingling that could make contact tracing difficult. Tournaments that would require multiple schools to meet for one event would also be canceled. No away-team would be allowed to use the locker rooms, and instead would come to all games prepared to play in order to reduce the risk of contamination. Spectators would not be allowed, but games would be streamed and Wifi would be made available in the school parking lot.
The cross country meet, which was scheduled to have 10 teams competing and more than 300 students-athletes participating, was also modified. The meet would be split into two separate events between the four Elkhorn conference schools. Teams would run in staggered groups to prevent contact between the schools, and the finish line would be the only portion of the meet to be streamed.
As for volleyball, players would wear masks and the ball would be replaced and sanitized after every rally. Both cross country and volleyball were deemed less of a concern when it came to the spread of COVID-19 than football.
Football dominated the conversation.
Fetherston supplied the Board and members of the community with details regarding his plans for the football season. In a handout titled “Boulder/Clancy Football 2021,” he outlined his proposed changes to practices and games.
The practice location would be on the Clancy field away from the high school team on the sidelines. New gear would include buffs as uniform facial coverings and football gloves for all athletes except the quarterback. The practices would focus on touch-free walk-thrus and helmets-only modifications. Fetherston explained walk-thru practices as, “Zero contact. Minimal running. It’s just more mental — you’re talking things through so everyone is on the same page.” Helmets-only practices are similar to walk-thrus, but add “game speed” and increased air and individual drills. Some practices would still require full contact but would be less frequency.
The main concern was whether or not allowing sports, specifically football, which requires significantly more contact than cross country running or volleyball, was antithetical to the school’s goal of continuing face-to-face learning. Some Trustees described themselves as “torn” and feared that traveling for sports and inviting teams into the school would undo the careful planning of faculty, staff and administrators. When asked by the Trustees, a representative for the teachers confirmed that they had not been consulted regarding the opening of fall sports and the effects it may have on the school remaining open.
“We want to bring some normality back to them,” Fetherston argued, “we have to provide some kind of activity for these guys … being active is healthy.”
Parents and guardians largely supported the opening of fall sports with 65 voting yes and 20 voting no in a survey conducted by the Clancy School. Many parents in attendance sided with Fetherston,= with some even going so far as to state that students would likely join club sports if the school season was canceled. Club sports do not have to follow the school’s social distancing and safety guidelines and therefore, parents argued, presented a greater danger to the students and the continuation of in-person learning than continued school-sanctioned sports.
The start of football season was approved by the Board, with one major modification to the plan presented by Fetherston: games scheduled with Manhattan, Livingston, Butte Central and Big Timber would be canceled due to existing cases in those counties or proximity to counties with increased cases. Practice started Aug. 17.
