sportstyle

44 • January 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com TEAM / FOOTBALL T he allure, appeal and attraction of football remain undisputed. As does its impor- tance to the team sports business, even though participation numbers were down along with all other youth sports in pan- demic-era 2020. Pop Warner Little Scholars executive director Jon Butler doesn't have much positive news to share about the state of his national youth football program. Under normal circumstances, roughly 225,000 youngsters would play football and participate as cheerleaders under his watch each fall. This year, the numbers were down significantly. "Only 10-15 percent of our teams played due to governmental and health department restric- tions," Butler reports. "Our programs [were] impacted by decisions made by local cities and counties," with many programs making plans to play football this spring instead. "While we support this idea, local programs will be competing for field space to play and practice because lacrosse and soccer pro- grams are normally playing on those fields in the spring." In addition to the competition for field space, these Pop Warner programs may be competing for athletes, too. "Many of our participants are multi-sport athletes," adds Butler. "If youth football is being offered in the spring, it will force athletes to make a choice between football and another sport, which they have never had to do in the past." And even though its annual Super Bowl championship games, normally held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Lake in December, were cancelled, hope springs eter- nal for a return of Pop Warner Football in Fall 2021. Butler knows that his Pop Warner parents, coaches and players are ready to play football and bring a degree of normalcy to their lives. "Right now, there's lots of pent-up demand for kids playing sports," says Butler. "Kids need to get out and play." A t the important high school level, football was played since August, though there certainly were a number of postpone- ments, delays and last-minute schedule changes along the way. It was a full-time job for dealers and organizers to keep up with a season unlike any other. "No state completely canceled football — every state is either playing, postponing until spring or has adopted another form, such as 7-on-7 or one- hand touch, for the fall," says Cody Porter, manager of media relations for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). "In many instances, even if a state allowed tackle football this fall, it offered an alternative season for any school or district not interested in participation amidst the pandemic." NFHS executive director Dr. Karissa Niehoff remained focused on helping to devise strategies and ideas that have helped football be played safely for student-athletes and their coaches. These back-to-play strategies even impacted members of marching band and fans. The NFHS's advice and guidance on high school football for Fall 2020 started back in mid-May when the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee released a document that addressed the possible progression for returning to play for all school and athletic activities. To bring back sports, such as tackle football, strict hygiene practices were implemented, transportation to and from events was modified, social distancing was enforced and a tiered approach was designed to determine who should be allowed to attend events. When it came to specific ideas on how to safely practice and play football, Niehoff says teams have used no-huddle offenses, cleaned their practice dummies more frequently, had very little full contact in practice, eliminated scrimmaging, practiced in small pods of players, did not use the same hydration stations during practice and decided to make locker room facilities off-limits to players. FOLLOW THE NUMBERS SAME STORY AT HIGH SCHOOL "Right now, there's lots of pent-up demand for kids playing sports. Kids need to get out and play." John Butler, executive director Pop Warner Little Scholars "No state completely canceled football — every state is either playing, postponing until spring of adopted another form." Cody Porter, mangager media relations NFHS

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