Trojans respect COVID-19, not threatened by it

FAIRFIELD - During the first day of high school football practice at Fairfield, head coach Nate Weaton's phone buzzed constantly with news of the sports world and how the coronavirus was affecting it.

However, the sports on his phone were not the concern of a high school football head coach.

'We are not going to be wondering what is going on out there because we are happy as heck to be here and be given the chance to play football,” Weaton told the team after practice. We get to play the greatest sport ever invented and we are going to play it with passion.”

Regarding the coronavirus, it's not that the Trojan staff are not conscious about it. They are doing everything the state has asked them to do and more. Whenever they are inside, they are masked up. There were even coaches with masks on when they were outside.

'I don't like lifting with a mask on because it makes it hard to breathe,” senior lineman Kyle Godwin said. 'It's not really something I worry about. It's not something that is going to affect us unless it causes something to happen to our football season. Then I will worry about it. Otherwise, it hasn't really bothered me.”

When there was the state edict about shelter in place, people have been cooped up inside. That is especially hard on teenagers.

'We think it's good for their mental health that we get to play,” Weaton said. 'It's good for good for camaraderie.”

The coaching staff are being safe and conscious of any possible problem. They insist on social distancing whenever possible.

'My personal opinion is this is a safe and healthy environment for the kids to be in,” Weaton said.

Fairfield assistant coach Steve Miller was wearing a mask outside, but he hates talking about COVID-19.

'I don't want to hype the worry,” he said. 'This needs to be about football, not COVID.”

Fairfield is doing all it can to make sure the kids get to play football. At the same time, people have to try to do the best they can to go on with normal lives. There is no way to control what everybody else is doing.

'We are going to do our thing because we have been given permission to do it and we are going to do it until somebody tells us we can't,” Weaton said. 'If you start wondering, it is not productive.”

Worry is not going to prevent anything. It's just like being afraid to be hurt. If one is worried about blowing a knee out, then at some point it is probably going to happen.

'If you don't worry about it and just play football, play with passion, play with love, then you let the chips fall where they may,” Weaton said.

The message is getting through to the team.

'I am not scared of the virus,” senior running back Landen Schafer said. 'I'm just going day to day and I'm going to play football until they tell me I can't.”

Even though other states have pushed football to spring, the virus will still be a threat then as well. It is not going away.

'As long as they don't lose the sports, I guess it's a good idea,” Weaton said. 'It's not going to be gone by the spring so learn to live with it.”

It's a new world people are living in so Fairfield's football program has decided to do what they need to do.

'The virus is what it is and that's all I have to say about it,” said senior linebacker Brad Smithburg, who is not scared of it. 'It is what it is. If we're going to get it, we're going to get it. If we're not, we're not. The flu has been here forever and we are able to deal with it.”

With the Iowa High School Athletic Association paring the number of games down from nine to seven, Fairfield lost a couple teams (Ottumwa and Centerville) that Weaton wanted to play.

'We were really excited to have Ottumwa on the schedule because that was a big rivalry with Fairfield for years and years,” Weaton said. 'We will adapt and will be ready for district play when it happens.”

With everybody making the playoffs, it allows every team to start fresh. Whatever a team's record is, it will be are 0-0 at the beginning of the postseason.

'That's a great thing if you've had some trials and tribulations or some problems with the virus,” Weaton said.

The protocol for schools to follow will be if someone tests positive, a team will want to be able to do a trace of who all he was exposed to. It is a 10-day quarantine for the positive-tested person.

'It doesn't mean you should shut the program down,” Weaton said. 'We will let the state tell us what to do if we run into that.”

While the virus is a distraction, coaches believe it gives them a great opportunity to talk about the players' lifestyle off the field.

'Put the right foods in your body, get plenty of hydration, get plenty of sleep, eat the right things whether it's COVID or something else like the flu, take care of your body,” Weaton said. 'You will have a better time fighting it off if you take care of yourself.”