Waiting out Coronavirus: FHS, BHS boys soccer teams
While the Coronavirus pandemic has most school districts statewide closed at least through Friday, April 24, the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association “keeps pushing things back, but they haven’t cancelled anything,” said Ryan Radcliffe, boys soccer head coach of defending Class AAA state champ Bearden. “Spring Fling is still on.”
So, players must attempt to stay in shape and continue to sharpen their shooting and passing skills and coaches must cope with having no organized practice time.
“I’ve sent our guys a plan and things that they need to be doing to stay in shape,” Farragut head coach Ray Dover said. “I can’t make them practice soccer together.
“We have 15 seniors, and they’re chomping at the bit to get to play and hopefully they will get that chance to play together.
“But it is what it is and it’s like I told the boys, we all have to make sacrifices and if we do what we’re supposed to do, what the (Center for Disease Control) says for the next two weeks or month, our country will bounce back and we will be stronger than ever.”
Farragut competes in District 4-AAA, and the league’s coaches have a plan in play for if and when play resumes. Plans are for the Admirals, Hardin Valley, Academy Maryville, Lenoir City, William Blount and Heritage to play a five-game district schedule.
That slate of matches also would serve as the postseason tournament. “If we go back to school on April (27), that basically gives us two weeks to play five games. We can do that,” Dover said.
For Radcliffe and the two-time defending District 2-AAA champion Bulldogs, the path to the postseason is more uncertain.
“If we come back on April (27), we’ll have to start by playing the district playoffs,” he said. “No
district games have been played, so there’s the issue of how to seed.Are we going to go off of last year, or are we going to go based on what people think based on this year?”
When play was suspended, FHS was 2-0 while Bearden was 0-1.
