This season, I will start my 22nd year covering High School Football in the craziest set of circumstances we have had. It is high school football in the middle of a Pandemic.
No one knows what the season will hold; certainly, high school football coverage will be different than ever. Some ISD’s are limiting or prohibiting photographers from the sidelines. Socially distancing press boxes will be quite the feat, as many areas where press actually congregate are pretty packed, sometimes with coaches and scouts as well.
My goal, depending on what the ISD’s will allow, will be to cover games with a laptop and a camera from the stands. The open air should provide a cushion of safety, and it should keep numbers out of the press box where at least 1-2 local writers should have the seniority over an area wide sports writer.
The first four weeks of the year, the personality known as Small School Diggsy will make his way to the website. Certainly, the environment around many of these smaller school games will be just as scrutinized and just as discussed as the actual game itself. Most stadiums will limited concession stand options and almost all tickets set aside for presale.
The new normal at least will provide us an opportunity to see some high school football in 2020, and for that, the greater community is grateful. The coverage will be just as much of a story as the game, so stay tuned to see how we can highlight as many great student-athletes as we can throughout the state here at TheOldCoach.com.
