HANCOCK COUNTY — This time a year ago, nothing was certain.
Just four months after the COVID-19 pandemic halted normalcy globally, let alone the Indiana high school and overall sports world in general, no one knew what to expect next.
There were more questions then answers on a daily basis as athletic directors, administrators, coaches, parents and student-athletes entered the unknown of resuming athletic competition amid the most unprecedented era in history.
The lexicon changed as did the process as a whole with the incorporation of social distancing, quarantines, face masks, temperature checks, contact tracing and shutdowns.
Some athletic programs throughout Hancock County felt the impact of the pandemic firsthand as teams and individual student-athletes lost weeks of their seasons, if not the entirety of their respective postseasons.
However, with every negative came unexpected positives despite the radical learning curve associated with the 2020-21 school year.
“I think, we all feel a little bit more sure this time that we’re going to have a season, which last year, we were still kind of up in the air as to what that would really look like and all the limits that the COVID guidelines entailed,” Greenfield-Central athletics director Jared Manning said.
“Having a year of that under our belt makes the preparation a little bit easier. We’re not to that extent right now, but obviously, the numbers continue to climb, so I think it will make it easier, if we do have to make a change, then maybe it was last fall.”
While COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted since the initial shutdowns in March of 2020, the delta variant has become an on-going issue in Indiana as cases continue to increase.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the delta variant has been discovered in more than 90 percent of tests this month in the Hoosier State. Earlier this summer, the virus’ alpha variant was predominant in most tests, but the new strand is being linked to the more than 900 new cases being reported daily in Indiana. The state had seen a decrease in COVID-19 cases, dropping below 2,000 in June, but in July, those numbers have jumped to more than 4,000.
Local athletic administrators are cognizant of the numbers and are adhering to the guidance of county and state health officials as has been the protocol since the pandemic’s beginning, but preparation for 2021-22 and past experience has brought a more optimistic perspective.
“We all kind of went into last year with a whole lot of unknowns as to how things would look and how they would work. Changing from cash tickets to digital tickets and limited crowds and limited capacities and what about workers? Now, we kind of have a better idea of what that all looks like, so less unknowns and more experience is a good way to put it,” Manning said.
“Those are all things that could change based on the increased numbers and specific guidance from the state. Now, it seems like we’re back to checking the website and counting numbers and state numbers and taking a look at what’s happening around us and how it might impact our seasons and what it will look like all together.”
Awareness and communication has become the new normal for athletic directors and that philosophy has become a staple when it pertains to the health and safety of all involved in prep sports.
At the same time, there is an element of calm with the 2021-22 sport season set to commence next month.
“Overall, I feel great in a sense that we hope. We didn’t have that last year. We were crossing our fingers and praying that we’d make it through to the end, but we have hope that we’ll be able to welcome back crowds. Our plan right now is to sell all-sport passes, barring any changes. We hope things don’t change obviously, but we will be welcoming back a great crowd for the first home events,” Mt. Vernon athletics director Brandon Ecker said.
“We still have COVID protocols, but it’s changed in a sense that some of that stress is gone, but we’re not complacent either because we know it can be taken away from us. That’s the lesson learned last year.”
How to collaborate and adjust under extreme circumstances was a direct byproduct of the pandemic for most, if not all, athletic directors across the state. And it’s brought the administrative community closer together.
In the initial stages of the pandemic, Ecker and nearly 40 other athletic directors partook in a weekly statewide Zoom meeting that spanned the entire course of the spring of 2020 and into the conclusion of this past school year. At one point, the meetings attendees increased to more than 300 individuals.
“We brought in guest speakers and motivational speakers. We had the IHSAA on there because we were all trying to keep a pulse on this and you realize as a teacher and an administrator, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We’re all in this with the same mission and that’s to provide opportunities for kids to learn,” Ecker said.
“Honestly, the the collaboration among ADs has never been higher, and I think that’s probably one of the biggest takeaways professionally for us as ADs.”
Knowing they weren’t alone as they navigated through 2020-21 helped ease the burdens of limited crowd sizes and fluid scheduling due to quarantines while in-season makeup dates were a daily occurrence.
“It was tough. There’s no way around it. It was a lot of hours. It was a lot of challenges. A lot of frustrations, but I think the biggest piece for me was at the end of the day we were still able to have our kids competing and practicing for the most part with some interruptions,” Manning said. “When you look at the states around us and the limits they had, the lack of seasons and participation, and we were able to do a lot of what we normally do, it was just at a decreased level as far as capacities.”
For many athletic directors and their coaches, reaching the end of the 2020-21 school year without a complete shutdown require attention to detail, persistence and a dedication to the value each opportunity allotted for student-athletes.
“It was pretty mentally taxing. I think for all of us, the anguish of the uncertainty, not knowing what the next day would bring, the fear that we could lose it all, I think changed our approach a little bit, but maybe for the coaches and those who work in the athletic department, we realized the value of what we’re trying to do and also understanding you can’t take it for granted,” Ecker said.
“I guess, that’s the message we tried to send as we closed out the year. We were really fortunate and to have the year we had, but we also know now that everything has an expiration date. Everything we do has an expiration date, and so what we do with that time has become more valuable. That’s the approach that we’ve taken.”
As the new school year nears, the goal remains the same regardless what might be.
“None of us want to go through that again, and I would say, we are more prepared to know how to handle it,” Ecker said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to taking for granted what we have available to us because it can be taken away at any moment.”
