Central athletic director talks COVID-19 impact on fall sports

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

A new school year dawns, and so does a season of sports against the backdrop of COVID-19. Students will return to the halls, the courts and the fields chasing victory, not just against opponents, but also against an unfamiliar and ever-changing set of challenges—challenges that, according to Central Principal and Athletic Director Aaron Reinhart, have made it difficult to plan because every plan hinges on an untold number of outside factors. 

“We’re making a plan and then making a new plan before the original plan was used,” Reinhart commented. “It’s just so many changes and most with short notice.” 

These changes require innumerable amounts of behind the scenes coordination with coaches, students, families, transportation, officials, concession stand workers, facilities and opponents. Most goes unseen by the spectating public. 

The school successfully completed baseball and softball seasons without any major setbacks or outbreaks, but “the nature of the summer season is so different because school is not in session…[but] we will continue to disinfect, encourage distancing and readjust each week as necessary,” Reinhart said. 

This positive, transparent approach, along with Central following the guidance of the Iowa Department of Education and Department of Public Health and trusting the community to adhere to protocols regarding symptoms, helped produce a successful summer sports season. 

“During softball, this went well, and everyone did a great job with it,” Reinhart said.

While concerns of an outbreak never stray far, Reinhart insisted precautions are being taken. “The coaches and I have monitored our health and heeded precautions daily since we started back with summer workouts on July 1,” he said. 

He went on to comment on the education continually provided to staff and coaches about proper precautions and steps to take in the event a situation does arise. There is a sense of readiness. This has resonated with the athletes and coaches, as none have opted out, according to Reinhart, who ensured that “a lot of steps are being taken” to ensure the safety of everyone involved. 

Some of the steps this fall include replacing the football with a disinfected one on every fourth down, having a two-minute time out every four minutes and prohibiting spitting. Volleyball teams will not switch benches and no competitions will end with teams shaking hands. 

As for fans, they’re encouraged to attend. While face coverings are required when social distancing is not possible, Reinhart remarked, “There are several outdoor events that make distancing easier [and] we have one of the largest gymnasiums around for a 1A school, which makes distancing more feasible indoors at Central.” 

This should all encourage the community, as should Reinhart’s excitement about the sports season itself. 

“We have some exciting things happening this fall. We are in a position to show growth, be competitive and have fun. We have a really great group of kids involved,” he said. 

It’s a group of kids that, for the most part, has remained positive, though they have grown “frustrated with the restrictions,” said Reinhart. 

They all just want to have a good experience, and a supportive community aids in that pursuit. It’s a community with members who have taken this moment of crisis and created moments of opportunity. 

Reinhart recalled two examples. First, there “was a young lady who maintained the discipline to continue working after track and field was canceled.” This young lady went as far as to send the coach videos of her progress. “Many adults don’t exhibit the discipline and drive it takes to achieve a goal, but as a high school student, she did,” Reinhart observed. 

The second example exemplifying “high character” was when a coach called Reinhart and asked if they could donate their coaching paycheck “because it didn’t seem right that they got paid when the season was ended.”

But what is it about sports that makes them so essential? There is always the old adage that “sports satisfy an emotional need and without them a void is left,” as expressed by Reinhart, but it’s also deeper than that. COVID-19 did what so many other unforgettable events did not. It took sports away, “and for the first…literally the first time in our lives…we were forced to consider what life would be like without sports,” Reinhart stated. 

Sports don’t just fill a void, though. According to Reinhart, sports, especially high school sports, are a “central gathering point for a community to celebrate the next generation.” It’s also about the excitement, the expelling of emotions, building relationships and bonding in the celebration of victory or the tears of defeat. 

In this imperfect season unlike any other before it, Reinhart emulates his “lead by example” ethos. It is a “stay positive” approach, which makes it all the easier. Now, he said, is a “time to model for our kids what it looks like to respond to adversity and handle it in a positive way.”