PIAA is moving forward with its fall sports seasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Pennsylvania is on track to have high school sports this fall, barring a directive from the state government to shut down.
The PIAA — Pennsylvania’s governing body over high school sports — announced Wednesday evening that it will move forward with its fall sports seasons despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and increasing COVID-19 cases.
Football will begin “heat acclimatization” Aug. 10 and other fall sports will begin practice Aug. 17.
The governing body released a statement on its Twitter account saying it’s committed to providing a season for sports in the upcoming school year, but will be flexible if conditions change.
“Our focus is the health and safety of student-athletes which is paramount in moving forward with athletics,” the statement read. “Each member school has developed health and safety guidelines to allow athletics to continue as an important part of the school day. Participation in athletics has known health benefits, including promoting physical fitness and mental wellness, which is necessary in a time of uncertainty for our student-athletes.”
All five Centre County high school football programs have begun their offseason workouts, with State College having started training Wednesday.
Those workouts have begun with plenty of restrictions in place.
“We split the kids up in half,” Bald Eagle head coach Jesse Nagle told the Centre Daily Times earlier this month. “Roughly 15-20 kids will be using the weight room and outside the weight room working out. They have to wear masks, long pants and long shirts. While they’re doing that the other group is on the field doing agility work and speed work.”
Those restrictions can change as each school moves from phase to phase in accordance with its health and safety guidelines.
All five county football programs are set to begin their season in the last weekend of August.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
