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High school athletes and coaches wait to hear when activities can resume

MHSAA set to release new information on Friday
Posted at 11:11 AM, May 29, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-29 11:11:14-04
The Future of fall sports

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is set to release new information to member schools as it relates to summer activities on Friday.

Summer activities were originally set to begin on June 1st.

"I fully expect the MHSAA to tell us it is a wait and see until July one," Forest Hills Central football coach Tim Rogers said. "That is what my anticipation is. I have no proof of that, no one has told me that."

Rogers says that a late start does not mean that fall sports cannot go on as planned.

"Can we prepare? Yes. I am confident that my peers, my colleagues would have their teams ready to go with minimally three weeks notice," Rogers added. "It is just a matter of what the governor and medical community is going to let us do."

If sports, specifically football, do play this fall, in what format they exist can only be speculated on at this point.

"That is the great unknown," Rogers said. "As you asked before would we play this sport in front of nobody? And the answer would be absolutely yes. If given the alternative of playing in front of an empty stadium and streaming the game via the internet rather than losing the season, we would all vote for let's play in front of an empty stadium and stream the game."

What we do know is the kids desperately want to play.

"I get a text every now and again and it is heartfelt, coach please tell me that we are going to be able to play football," Rogers said. "And I don't know what to tell them and that is the biggest problem right now for us high school coaches."

For now, teams are meeting virtually and many athletes are working out on their own to stay ready.