Georgia High School’s officially were able to return to workouts on June 8th. The GHSA held a meeting last week and voted to push back the original start date they had agreed upon, moving things a week back from the 1st to the 8th. The meeting was held electronically and was broadcast on the NFHS network.

“These kids have already been away from their fellow students for two-and-a-half months. They’ve already missed proms and honors nights. They’re ready to get back, and that’s been made clear to me from the hundreds of emails I’ve gotten from parents saying, ‘Please let our kids get going.’ It is time to get going” Executive Director Robin Hines said during the meeting.

The kids are allowed at conditioning workouts only, with strict guidelines put into place by the GHSA.

A few of the main recommendations and restrictions include:

• Member schools should prepare an Infectious Disease Prevention Plan prior to staff and athletes returning to conditioning.
• Groups should be the same individuals (including coaches) for each session to limit risk of exposure. Students or coaches CANNOT change groups for the duration of this guidance.
• There is no competition allowed between schools.
• Social distancing should be adhered to always and masks/face covering are recommended for the weight room.
• No use of locker rooms or shower facilities. Students should report to the facility dressed to condition and shower at home.
• Each student should have their own personal water bottle. No use of water fountains.
• It is recommended that staff and athletes are screened prior to each workout.

Honestly, in my opinion, these restrictions don’t seem like anything too extreme. After looking at the guidelines the NFHS originally released and then looking at these you can tell that the GHSA scaled some things back so it wouldn’t be so harsh on the kids and staff. On any account it will be nice to drive by the field and see some kids running around out there again. We are leaps and bounds ahead of where we originally though we would be at this point. All of this is moving us into the direction where I am getting more confident in the fact that we will see fans in the stands come Friday night football this fall.

Check out more of Jake West’s Scoring Points by reading last week’s article: My take on CCS consolidation. Also remember, in sports, points are scored by both sides, so send in your opinions on sports to [email protected] and see them in our next Sunday Edition.