1st social-distancing practice day for some Borderland high school athletes
(Editor's note: ABC-7 erroneously reported earlier that practices were ending after the first day in the SISD system due to virus concerns. This was based on a miscommunication and we regret the error.)
EL PASO, Texas -- For high schools around El Paso, June 15th has been circled on the calendar for a few weeks.
Monday morning, SISD and EPISD returned to on-campus athletic workouts for the first time in three months.
It started before the sun came up at America’s high school, where the Bi-District Champion Trail Blazers gathered in assembly line fashion at 6 a.m.
But before entering the facility, players and coaches had to pass SISD mandated health protocol.
“They’ll answer a series of six questions regarding Covid-19 and any exposure that they’ve had," says SISD athletic director JJ Calderon.
"When they report to the campus, coaches will verify that the athletes did go through the pre screening, and then they’ll report to their small group.”
Across SISD schools like Montwood, Pebble Hills, and Eastlake, the protocol is consistent.
On the field, players are in face coverings, rotating in small groups from station to station without contact.
Caution is key with the student athletes. Especially after a weekend that saw a Cathedral high school football player test positive and a Socorro high school coach show Covid symptoms.
And while SISD went though with their plan to return, they definitely paid attention to what happened at those schools.
“Every single case, we see somethings happening across the state, we see specific things happening locally and we’re taking all that in," adds Calderon. "We wanna make sure that we’re staying informed."
Not just SISD but athletic directors across all levels in El Paso already have plans in place should a a positive test arise.
UTEP athletics also returned to campus Monday and Athletic Director Jim Senter is realistic in that protocols are in place to diminish all risk.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of if someone will test positive eventually I think it will," says Senter. "It’s the matter of have we done everything on our part to minimize that and mitigate the risk.”
