COVID-19 connection with Shaler football team sparks questions for other school districts

The hot weather isn’t the only concern for parents of student athletes this summer. Shaler High School’s football coach sent his team home Tuesday after learning the family-friend of one of his players tested positive for COVID-19.

That sparked questions for other local school districts about what they are doing to keep student athletes safe during the pandemic.

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A similar situation happened with North Allegheny.

“We have a player that’s not here that has no symptoms and has not had a positive test, but there was a chance he was exposed to a cousin,” said Art Walker, head coach for the high school football team.

Walker told Channel 11 they are not leaving anything to chance either. His team started summer workouts this week, but the player he mentioned has not been at workouts. That player is doing a mandatory 14-day quarantine and will be scanned before coming back as well.

It’s a difficult decision other head coaches are facing as summer workouts begin. Pine-Richland starts next week.

Each school district in Pennsylvania was required to come up with a return-to-play plan for coronavirus. North Allegheny and Pine-Richland are similar.

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Players are split up into small groups and will condition with those same players and coach. They will wipe down equipment in between use, and kids will bring their own water bottles.

There will be temperature checks and players will have to answer questions related to COVID-19.

“If anybody gives the wrong answer or has a temperature, then they are immediately sent home and re-evaluated,” Walker said.

Both teams spaced out equipment for social distancing. NA even turned a gym into its new workout room. As for masks, Pine-Richland is requiring players and coaches to wear them.

In a press conference Sunday, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said they are starting to get a COVID-19 alert on local sports, especially youth sports.

“We are keeping an eye on that. We haven’t seen a lot yet, but we are starting to see a little indication that youth sports might be what we thought about restaurants and bars two weeks ago,” Fitzgerald said.

Summer workouts at Shaler are expected to resume Thursday. Meanwhile, the athletic director told TribLIVE that player could be kept away from the team for two weeks.

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