It was a foggy and drizzly morning at Hamlin high school on Thursday as young men showed up for their first day of football practice. For the most part, everything seemed normal, but before any player could snap on their chin strap, and step on the field, Chargers head coach Jeff Sheehan had to take their temperatures and evaluate any potential symptoms.
Once everyone was on the field and cleared to participate, everything was…normal. For those three hours of practice, there wasn’t any fear of COVID, it felt like it does every year around this time with teams taking that first step towards a hopeful state championship.
Coach Jeff Sheehan will enter his ninth season this fall as head coach for the Hamlin Chargers.
“It was good. Getting together this summer, the little we did was fun, but today was just the reality setting in that we’re going to have high school sports again. When it got called off back in March, I felt bad for all of the kids that were participating. No track, state basketball – our girls team made it to the state tournament and didn’t get a chance to play,” Sheehan explained. “This is a good feeling that we’re getting back to a new normal maybe, but we’re being trusted to have sports again. And that’s awesome to me and makes me feel good.”
Everyone is craving normalcy these days and today all three nine-man classes and class 11B got a small taste of it as practice began.
“Coaching these kids has been one of the best things that I do, and I enjoy it immensely, so knowing that I get to come back and work with them again and not have to wait. There are surrounding states that are going in spring, that would be hard for me. I’m glad that we’re coming back in the fall,” stated Sheehan. “South Dakota has done a really good job, I believe, with the virus, and we’re going to do our best. Working with these kids, it’s just made the beginning of my school year better.”
Every school district in South Dakota is dealing with similar discussions as school quickly approaches. While nobody knows what tomorrow will bring or what the landscape will look like in mid-September or early October, it feels like most are going to give their best attempt at making the best of it.
“It’s kind of like concussion [protocol],” said Hamlin athletic director Timm MacDonell. “We don’t mess around with that. We see symptoms and we put the kid in concussion protocol, and [the coaches] are great about that. It’s kind of been a seamless transition, as far as that goes, but there’s just a hundred other things that come up that we need to be careful of.”
For starters, players are required to bring their own water bottles to practice, rather than use the team water station that allows multiple kids to drink from the same hose line at once. Another change, at least until school starts, is restricting the use of the locker room before and after practice. This means kids are expected to come to practice fully dressed or change in their vehicles when they arrive to the field.
Hamlin, like most districts, has also invested into expanding the amount of cleaning supplies that they have on hand. And the policy of using those cleaning supplies is much more extensive as well.
“It feels good, but it’s been a long break from having nothing, so it’s really tiring. But it’s nice to come back out here with our boys and have fun,” said Hamlin senior Jackson Noem. “We just don’t want [covid discussion] to affect us that much and we’re going to try our best to distance from each other, but we’re not going to focus on that as much as working hard.”
For the upperclassmen, leadership is also a focal point.
“Well I try to encourage [underclassmem] the best I can. I’m not always too verbal about it, but I try to always pick them up and keep them going,” said senior Carter Trowbridge. “I love it, growing up here I always looked up to the upperclassmen. When I was little, I always wanted to be just like them. Now that it’s here, it’s pretty cool.”
A majority of summer football practices occur in hot temps and high humidity, but not in Hamlin County on Thursday. MacDonell experienced the misty weather once before during the first practice of the year, and it was in 2014 – something many people of Hamlin remember well.
“Do you know the last time it was misting for the first practice? 2014. That’s a sign,” said MacDonell. In 2014, Hamlin won the 9B state title, and it was also the last time they made it to the dome. Maybe the dreary morning will bring a positive omen to the Chargers squad in 2020.
Across the state, a lot of kids, coaches, and fans are excited about the return of high school sports and activates. While nothing is a guarantee, it’s about making the best of the situation.
