“I mean we’re out here for these guys. They’ve been quarantined in their house. They haven’t been able to go to school,” said Blaine soccer coach Berry Arrowsmith.
Arrowsmith says they try to keep the players apart as much as possible. Facemasks are worn during warm-ups, but when physical activity starts, they come off. Personal equipment is spaced out 9 feet apart along the sidelines, carpooling to games and practices is limited to just a couple players per car and they’re told to stay home if they show any sign of illness.
“We have them take their temperature every day before they come to practice, and if they have a temperature, it says it’s supposed to be 100.4, I told them if its 100 stay home,” said coach Arrowsmith.
The Minnesota State High School League has special rules for this season. Interscholastic scrimmages are not allowed, the length of the season is shortened, there are fewer games, and competitions must be held against local opponents only.
In more than 30 years of coaching, Berry Arrowsmith says this one is very different.
“I think there’s a lot of little things, but I think the biggest thing is camaraderie,” says Coach Arrowsmith. “The kids like to give the high five, or pat a kid on the back and say hey, good job. You can’t do that stuff now because you just want to make sure.”
Arrowsmith says a successful season is one where everyone stays healthy.
Three other fall sports are getting underway with shorter seasons. They are girls’ tennis, cross-country, and girls’ swimming and diving.
