Governor Mike DeWine gave the go-ahead Tuesday for high school contact sports to continue this fall should school districts choose to follow that path. This announcement came just days after the Bedford School Board allowed fall sports to restart this week.
A visit to the Bedford Bearcat Stadium on Tuesday afternoon found the high school football and soccer teams back at it on the field as they readied themselves for their respective seasons. The middle school students are set to resume their practices on Monday, Aug. 24.
Chan Coleman, head coach of the girls’ soccer team, explained some of the new equipment the team was using to make sure everything was up to new coronavirus cleaning standards. The portable cleaning station had temporal thermometers to be used before practice, and hand-sanitizers that the girls used before getting drinks. There were also disinfectant wipes to be utilized for cleaning the soccer balls. The girls were encouraged to keep social distance when on breaks, as well.
The boys’ soccer team had practiced before the girls’ team, and there were still some players left practicing their moves on the field, Tuesday. According to the current Bedford Athletic Department sports schedules page, both soccer teams will begin their seasons against Brush High School at home on August 25. The boys’ soccer match is set to begin at 5 p.m., with the girls scheduled to play afterwards at 7 p.m.
The same sports page has the boys’ football team starting their season at Padua Franciscan High School on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
At Bearcat Stadium on Tuesday, the football team broke up into stations for the different skills groups, including quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and linemen. Â
Head coach, Charles Saulter, oversaw the proceedings as he walked from station to station, checking on progress. He had been one of the people to speak at the school board meeting last week urging the board to allow fall sports to continue.
