MADISON- The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc among high school athletics. Despite the Return to Play “Best Practices” guidelines set forth by the Alabama High School Athletic Association, some schools have made revisions for their own athletic programs and more changes could be on the horizon.

Both Bob Jones and James Clemens have elected not to play their opening schedule games due to health concerns surrounding the coronavirus and continued rise in number of cases of the COVID-19. James Clemens set for a season opener on the road in Mobile against the Murphy Panthers in Ladd-Peebles Stadium while Bob Jones was set to face the Tigers of Auburn High in Duck Samford Stadium. Instead, the Patriots will reschedule the Auburn game for Sept. 25. Both games were originally scheduled for Aug. 21.

With the cancellation and postponement, opening games for the two Madison City Schools will now begin the weekend of Aug. 28-29 as James Clemens will travel to nearby to Athens to face the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Aug. 29 while Bob Jones will host county rival Buckhorn Bucks at Madison City Schools Stadium On Friday the 28^th.

The Sparkman Senators are still on go for its season opener on the road at Gardendale High located just north of Birmingham. The Class 4A Mustangs of Madison Academy had their 2020 campaign opener scheduled at home versus Briarwood Christian Academy of Birmingham, but that game has been cancelled.

For James Clemens, the decision to cancel its opening on-field contest matches its philosophy on safety during the pandemic.

“We’re going over the top to secure safety and it centers on planning and we’ve done so as we’re attempting to come up with solutions,” said Wade Waldrop, head coach of the James Clemens football program. “We’re taking every precaution we can and follow the guidelines set forth by officials.”

For first-year Bob Jones head coach Kelvis White, he was looking toward to keeping his team’s trip to Auburn as normal as possible and implementing safety precautions that would keep everyone safe. He added, “We are providing our players and coaches with everything they need to be safe. Of course we’re following the AHSAA guidelines and putting forth what we think will keep our program safe.”

The AHSAA has indicated spectators will be allowed to attend sporting events this fall although be significantly reduced under the current Safer at Home public health order. When attending any high school athletic contest, spectators must wear a face mask or other facial covering that covers the nostrils and mouth at all times and keep the six-foot distancing of a person from another household.

State Health Officer, Dr. Scott Harris noted the guidelines were “created to mitigate-not-eliminate the risk of COVID-19. Schools are strongly to establish and follow policies for limiting event attendance in order to comply.”

Returning to a close proximity of “normalcy” is extremely important for high school student-athletes.

A recent study by a highly touted school of medicine showed 68-percent of high school student-athletes reported symptoms of depression or anxiety due to Covid-19 closures. The study confirmed that involvement in high school athletics is absolutely vital to the social, emotional and mental health of student-athletes. Athletics must be returned and done so with a positive and informed perspective to keep the programs going.

The 19,500 high schools nationwide are having to make incredibly difficult decisions centering on athletics. The AHSAA and the local schools are attempting to get students engaged in some type of athletics or organizations around athletics that have something to do with the normal life of their school, the life of the team and the community as a whole.

“Our players have gone through a tremendous learning curve during the pandemic and will continue to do so during our physical practices and games,” said Waldrop. “Our players will wear masks on the sidelines, our coaches will wear masks and try and remain apart on the sidelines as much as possible.”

“Many of our players will wear sleeves while in the game and pull up over their faces while on the sidelines,” added White. “We are looking at cutting attendance at games to try and follow the guidelines. All of this is very different than anything we’ve been through.”

Students learn better when they are involved in other activities surrounding their schools. Keeping the efforts to continue athletics is an attempt to make the student-athletes richer in education and growing up well-rounded.