JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — High school sports in Duval County are set to take another step forward next week as athletes and coaches look to begin practices.
The crunch of pads is a right of passage this time of year, but was delayed due to COVID-19 concerns.
Duval County Public Schools rolled out its plan to return sports more than a month ago with the third and final phase set to begin July 13. Conditioning and weightlifting were among the first two phases. Practice can resume with group sizes limited, masks required and no spectators.
What rules will translate into season competition is still to be determined. But for parents, there’s some unanswered questions.
“Uneasy is probably the first word that I would choose,” parent Stephanie Peyton explained her feelings about the coming school year and DCPS athletics entering Phase 3.
Her child is a rising high school senior and an active one at that. With the district still figuring out how to get students back in the classroom, Peyton questions the priorities.
“I’m a big proponent of athletics, I love sports I love activities," she said. "... but in terms of which one would be a priority, I think that would need to be on the education piece.”
The On Your Side team reached out to the district for comment about the next phase, but we did not hear back before this story aired.
However, in a previous statement, Superintendent Dr. Dianna Greene said, “We are able to open our training program in a way that respects the immediate health of players and staff in the COVID-19 environment and with an eye toward our student-athletes’ health if full-contact begins later this year.”
For Peyton and her family, it’s an ongoing discussion of what the safest way to learn will be — is what they’ll pursue.
“We will see and we’ll make the best decisions for our own families that we can,” Peyton said.