MERIDIAN, Idaho — Within the Southern Idaho Conference (SIC), there are nine different school districts that make up the 4A and 5A classifications. However, each district is responsible for making its own re-opening and athletic decisions.
Meaning some districts, like West Ada, Nampa, Caldwell, and Bishop Kelly, were cleared to start practices today, one week after their original start date.
"It was great. I think everybody is looking for something positive right now, and we aren't just talking about sports, but just life in general," Mountain View head football coach Judd Benedick said. "Everyone is looking for something to hang on to and something to have hope in. For us, to be able to go out today, on the day they told us we would get to start, to be able to actually do that, and see guys running around and having fun, coaches interacting with kids, it was just a blessing."
Cross-town rivals, the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies, were also out on the field bright and early on Monday morning.
"It was awesome. It's something you don't think you're going to be able to do and then all of the sudden, you get the opportunity, and we are already a week late, so we were all pretty excited to be out there," Rocky Mountain head football coach Chris Culig said.
Obviously, the 2020 season will bring with it its own challenges amid a global pandemic. But both Culig and Benedick say they're working to adapt the best they can.
"There's a lot of hoops you have to jump through, and a lot of protocol," Benedick said. "We're spraying things down all the time, we're washing our hands all the time, we are all wearing masks at practice, even the players, they got them around their neck."
"I think it's just the consistent unknown. Every day is a new challenge that is different," Culig said. "Dealing with someone being sick or the schedule getting changed or having to take a few extra steps to be safe, just a little more time-consuming."
However, just a few miles from West Ada's headquarters in Meridian, the Boise School District fields sat empty Monday. That's because the Board of Trustees decided to hold off all practices and games until at least the week of Sept. 8.
The board says they continue to work with the CDC and local health guidelines to make those decisions and will continue to evaluate on a week-to-week, and if needed, a day-to-day basis.
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