FORTVILLE — Standing 10 yards in front of nearly a dozen offensive linemen running footwork drills, Mt. Vernon head football coach Mike Kirschner readjusts his microfiber face shield mask before it slips down his nose.
Some of his Marauders players follow suit, repositioning their wide array of face coverings ranging from ear-looped sports masks to traditional disposable medical masks to reusable cloth masks.
Each player is positioned at nearly six feet apart from the other, focused on Kirschner, who stops the summer workout drill momentarily on Monday evening.
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Kirschner takes a few steps farther back from the socially distanced Marauders and pulls down his face covering to take a breath before raising his voice.
As soon as Kirschner is finished instructing his guard group, he immediately pulls his mask back into place so he can close in and safely shadow the next player, who makes a rapid simulated pull step.
A few minutes later, Kirschner lets his group take a water break. Each player runs towards the field sideline and heads to their individual jug. No sharing. No communal water cooler. Drinks are taken at a safe breadth from the other player.
“This is Year 37, so it’s quite different, even talking like this is weird,” Kirschner remarked while repositioning his mask under his eyeglasses. “You can see, we’re safe. We’re keeping them apart. We’re wearing masks.
“I think we need to get back to living. That’s my opinion. This is tough to do, but the kids are probably handling it better than I am.”
Working with the defensive backs group, Mt. Vernon senior Rylan Cole, an Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 4A Junior All-State selection, grins with his eyes.
His face is protected by a mask, but his elation is easy to spot when his ears slide back as he smiles through the team’s third practice since returning on July 6.
“It’s a little different for sure. It’s weird being six feet apart and wearing masks all the time, but it’s 1,000 percent worth it,” Cole said. “All the work we’ve put in over this whole quarantine by ourselves without coaches, it’s definitely going to be worth it on Friday night.”
Cole, like his teammates, is appreciative.
Just being back on the Marauders home field, with a little more than 100 players participating, is a massive step in the right direction compared to four months ago when high school sports shut down.
“It’s a lot different, but I’m just glad to be out here and not stuck in the house,” Mt. Vernon junior quarterback Gehrig Slunaker said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure we can keep doing it and we don’t get shut down again.”
The Marauders are following the safety protocols to the letter and are learning in the process. Grouped together in sets of 12 or less, the players are absorbing the fundamentals and also new lessons reflecting the times of COVID-19.
“We are proactive in educating them on what they should be doing,” Kirschner said. “I know North Central shutdown (on Monday), and that’s got me worried, but I’ve never been afraid to mince words, kids need to be in school. Kids need to get back to some sort of activity.
“If you study the suicide rate among teenagers in the US, and it’s gone up everywhere in the country, they need interaction. They need to be with friends, and I think we can do it safely. That’s my belief.”
On Monday, North Central High School athletics in neighboring Marion County were put on hold after the school opted to begin the fall semester with online learning. The Washington Township school board decided to commence the school year on July 30 with e-learning, which means face-to-face instruction won’t take place.
It also results in no education-based athletics at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference affiliated school until further notice.
Last week, Fishers High School football had a player test positive for the coronavirus, which led to an issued 14-day quarantine period for that student-athlete and those in his summer conditioning group. As a precaution, Fishers football canceled the remainder of their practices through the rest of the week.
Mt. Vernon isn’t taking any chances despite the threat of potential infection as conditioning progresses. The Marauders are only focusing on the controllable, and it begins with resuming with cautious optimism.
“There are a lot of people that would disagree with me, and I understand that, but I’m one of those in the high-risk age group, and I’ll be pushing 60, and I have no issues with going back into the building and getting back to work,” Kirschner said.
“Here’s how I look at it. If 6,000 girls can be playing basketball at Grand Park and the convention center last week, and baseball is being played all over the country, we can return. That’s how I feel. Might there be some hiccups and kids that need to sit out? Sure. Let’s be smart, but at the same time, let’s not end it.”
Mt. Vernon, like many schools in the state, is adhering to a three-phased plan during their return to athletics. Locker rooms are off limits. Masks are to be worn at all times. No direct contact with coaches or another player and proper distance and sanitation of equipment is essential.
“We’re always concerned about our kids’ health whether it’s COVID or injuries in general. After 30-some years, we’ve seen every kind there is. You want the kids to be healthy, but health is also mental and not just physical,” Kirschner said.
“If they’re not doing the things they want to do and the interaction and the camaraderie between kids, that’s part of their mental health. You worry about that end of it as well when they’re in their homes all the time and not getting out and getting to interact.”
Being leaders in the community is equally as important for the Marauders, who are working to be ambassadors once school starts on July 29.
The players are determined to keep fall sports moving forward as planned, and they are more than willing to play their role in determining the fate of the season’s future.
“That’s the hope. We’re already talking about when they have to wear a mask and where they have to be and what they have to do. You hope with 100 kids out here doing that, that the 1,200 kids in (the school) follow that and say, if they can do it, we can do it,” Kirschner said.
“They need to be the leaders. They need to set the standard. They need to tell everybody to put their mask on, stay away from each other. Let’s do the right thing.”
On the field, the Marauders were right on target, winning 11 of 14 games, including six straight last season en route to the program’s first regional championship. They want the opportunity do even better in 2020.
“That’s going to be our main thing this year. Last year, we lacked a little bit in leadership and this year, I really think, if we have those key leaders, then that’s really what’s going to set us apart from different teams,” Cole said.
“There’s a little fear, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get on the field. If we have to sign a waiver just in case we get corona or anything, I’m willing to do anything just to get on the field and play.”
Kirschner is thinking bigger, especially after North Central’s announcement and the Ivy League’s decision to cancel fall sports days prior along with the Big Ten Conference’s recent verdict to only play an in-league football schedule in 2020.
“With North Central shutting down, there’s probably going to be a reaction. There’s probably going to be more schools that say, well, if they can do it, we can do it. I told our people that would listen to me, don’t overreact. Hancock County isn’t Marion County,” Kirschner said.
“If sports are gone too long, they’ll end at the high school level, I believe that. I believe the IHSAA won’t be able to keep themselves open and sports as we know it at the high school level will be gone. It will be like Europe. Everything will be club. You play for a club, and the only one that doesn’t do club now is us.”
As of Tuesday, Marion County had 12,323 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 743 deaths. Hancock County had 477 coronavirus cases and 37 resulted deaths.
By following the proper steps, football has a higher probability of being played this year, Kirschner emphasized.
If a Mt. Vernon player doesn’t feel well, they are instructed to report their symptoms to the coaches and trainers and will be required to stay home from practice for 10 days.
“If a kid tells me on the Wednesday of the New Pal game he doesn’t feel well, he’s out the New Pal game and the next Friday. That’s 10 days,” Kirschner said. “When you explain that do them, they say, ‘We can’t get sick.’ Exactly, you have to take care of yourself. Even if you’re not sick with COVID, I don’t know that unless you go and produce a negative test. And, we can’t risk one infecting everyone else. Even if you’re Rylan Cole, and I really need you, I can’t do it.”
The players understand what needs to be done. And, they’re not arguing.
“I’m just trying to be positive because it’s senior year, and it would really just stink to get it all taken away,” Cole said. “It’s about being positive, staying safe and working just as hard as we would any other year. It’s amazing to be back. I missed everyone.”
