By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
This Friday, the Metro League will begin playing football once again. Despite, theses unprecedented times the league will embark on a 7-game spring season under strict COVID protocols.
Reggie Witherspoon, Jr., head football coach at Garfield High School, says his players are eager to get back on the field.
“Even in this different season it is important for the students to begin to find some normalcy,” says Witherspoon. “They have been in virtual learning for so long now the comradery and friendships, the ability to get together is important for the development of young people, so we are excited about the season and providing a safe and healthy environment for our kids to thrive and regain some normalcy.”
According to officials, all games will be held under strict Governor and WIAA COVID protocols.
“We are adhering to the governor’s guidelines”, states Alvertis Brooks, an administrator with the SPS Athletic Department. “In accordance with WIAA which SPS has adopted we are here to ensure that we are keeping our athletes safe per their guidelines and protocols.”
According to Brooks, because of the shortened season all games will be important when it comes to post-season bragging rights.
“There will be games scheduled over a 5-week period,” says Brooks, “And then based on how they finish, the teams with the best records will advance for the title “champion” which will be awarded to the team with the best overall record at the end of the season. Because of league policy and COVID-19 guidelines there will be no playoff scenario.”
COVID protocol mandates that there is a site supervisor at each schools’ practices to administer what is called an attestation.
“Every athlete has to do an attestation, which is testing for the proof of symptom,” says Brooks. “A test for symptom in line with the CDC guidelines of COVID symptoms. Testing for symptoms prior to practice. There will be no actual COVID testing — i.e. swab in nostrils and testing for temperatures is not necessarily a requirement — but testing for general systems is now protocol.”
Each practice will have a site supervisor trained in the district’s COVID-19 procedures, protocols and the SPS athletic department’s COVID-19 safety plan. That safety plan guides site supervisors to ensure that all of the practices, coaches and athletes are adhering to the governor’s guidelines.
“We are taking the league and the governor’s COVID-19 protocols seriously,” says Witherspoon. “Athletes are tested by symptoms and temperatures before walking onto the field at Garfield, masks are worn at all times even during games and we’ve had to teach and instill in our athletes the importance of adapting to the new changes.”
Football season has begun in Seattle and that is a good thing for the student athletes. Unfortunately, due to COVID football this season will not be a spectator sport as the guidelines prohibit fans from attending the games.
This article is one of a series of articles produced by The Seattle Medium through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to Word In Black, a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.
