TSSAA delays vote on football, girls soccer seasons

In a closed door executive session discussion, the TSSAA Board of Control decided to hold off on voting for potential changes to the high school football and girls’ soccer seasons on Wednesday in a highly anticipated virtual meeting.

Bernard Childress, executive director of the TSSAA, said the state’s governing body for high school athletics met with Gov. Bill Lee’s legal counsel Tuesday and ultimately decided to delay any votes on contingency plans. The board met in executive session virtually Wednesday, delaying a planned start to a public session by more than 20 minutes before announcing the non-decision. 

“We are working with the governor’s legal counsel and based on the conversation we are having, we think it is best to delay any vote on a contingency plan,” Childress said. “The governor’s legal counsel stated that they need time to observe the data and work with us.

"There will come a time when we will have to make a decision on a contingency plan, but right now it is our opinion that we need to give their legal team the opportunity to see if it is needed in girls’ soccer and football.”

Childress said the TSSAA and counsel have a “let’s hope for the best, but plan for the worst” approach, though no details were provided. In a later release Wednesday, the TSSAA said they will not be providing further comments “as the discussions with the governor’s legal counsel are ongoing.”

“If we have any chance of having fall sports, we encourage everyone to wear a mask, maintain physical distancing and wash hands to help everyone reach the goal of getting the numbers down,” Childress added. “The return on that investment would be that we do get to have fall sports on time this year.”

Coaches around Williamson County chimed in Wednesday.

“This is frustrating as we all were wanting a decision today,” Centennial Athletic Director and football coach Matt Kriesky said. “We need a plan in place so we can start preparing our teams properly.”

The TSSAA labeled football and girls’ soccer as “high-risk” contact sports last week, saying no-contact will be tolerated in practices currently, while adding that volleyball, cross country and golf will advance as normal, for now.

“Well, I am pleased that the season wasn’t canceled, it is frustrating that nothing has progressed since the governor’s executive order,” Christ Presbyterian Academy soccer coach Tom Gerlach said, adding he was “disappointed” there also wasn’t an opportunity for the media to ask questions following the meeting.

Gerlach’s Lady Lions won the Division II-A soccer title in 2018 and finished runners-up last year. He helped release a poll on social media last week in regards to the season and received more than 1,200 responses online.

Per the poll, nearly 80 percent preferred the TSSAA’s proposal to shift the girls soccer season back about two weeks to accommodate Gov. Lee’s current order expiring Aug. 29. The girls soccer and football seasons would begin on Aug. 30 if nothing is adjusted, according to the TSSAA. Last week, the TSSAA provided four options for the football season based on those dates with opening games planned for Sept. 18.

Regardless of missing jamborees and 7-on-7s among other preseason work, Ravenwood football coach Matt Daniels and Brentwood football coach Ron Crawford tried to focus on the potential positive from Wednesday's meeting: maybe the football season could start on time. Like collegiate and professional sports, Gov. Lee would have to exempt high school sports from his emergency order. 

“I’m being hopeful that it’s a positive sign,” Daniels said of the decision. “Maybe there’s some progress with the governor’s office. Decisions like these take time, it’s frustrating, but not surprising.”

“What we got out of it is they are working with the governor’s legal team to maybe try and start on time,” Crawford said. “I guess if there is a positive from this, it would be that we are possibly capable of starting on time.

“We’ll just get started again tomorrow with lifts, runs and some individual skills with social distancing. I tell you one thing, this is the cleanest my weight room has ever been.”

The TSSAA dead period ended Monday. Original regular season football games are scheduled to begin Aug. 21. A date for further updates from the TSSAA weren't provided. 

The board did announce the classification study session will be held July 22 at 1 p.m. at Siegel High School. The study pertains to the classification cycle and potential plans for TSSAA member schools beginning the 2021-22 school year.