There is disappointment in the halls of LCCVI after school administrators decided not to field a football team this year.
The schedule had already been set but last year’s Head Coach, Howard McLean, says there were simply not enough qualified coaches.
“To coach football, you have to a Safe Contact Course, which is a day-long course. Our board also requires concussion training, first aid and CPR training,” he says noting finding someone with those qualifications in a tight time frame isn’t easy.
“We looked at outside volunteers as well but it was just too short of a time frame to get them trained.
“We were trying to coordinate staff but just ran out of time.”
He added it is ideal to have four coaches on the field and when the school’s administration made the call to stop the football season, there were two people committed. “Two wasn’t enough… to make it safe.”
McLean added the team needed to get in eight practices with contact before the season started, and they were running out of time to do that. By cancelling the season early, the students could chose other sports to play.
Football had just made its return in 2016 after a year absence.
McLean knows there are disappointed athletes in the school, and he admits he is too. “It’s something other than working in the classroom that you’re dealing with the kids,” he says. “Football was something that brought the school together in the fall.”