WEST, Texas — Only one month remains until Texas schools are scheduled to start football practice ahead of the 2020 season.
But, while the time trickles down, the doubt surrounding the 2020 football season, as well as other fall sports, grows. All because of the continued rise in COVID-19 cases in Texas.
"We've dodged a couple bullets with some indirect contact among some of the kids, so we just decided it was a good time to shut it down for a little bit and take some time to clean our weight room and our facilities," West head football coach and athletic director David Woodard said.
Woodard announced the decision to suspend workouts at the end of June as coronavirus cases in Texas continued to rise.
A few days later, the UIL recommended schools, "consider closing summer workouts, rehearsals, practices and instruction between July 3-July 12, resuming Monday, July 13th."
"It's roughly, almost, a couple of weeks after the 4th of July," Woodard said. "So, I think those things led to make it the right time to start getting back to work."
Woodard shares the sentiment of many coaches across the state, that if it keeps the kids and families safe and preserves even a chance of a normal fall activities season, it's worth hitting pause.
The problem? Cases keep rising in Texas as the fall and football season near.
"I think everybody has doubt about everything that's going to happen in the fall, whether it's football season or if it's just how school is," Woodard said. "I think everybody is cautiously optimistic that we're going to get to."
Now, they're working to make sure kids and families understand the top priority for them during this public health crisis, even as the status of a sports season next school year is up in the air.
"The safety of our kids and their families and their health," Woodard said. "Then, you know, after that, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be tough for us to have as normal of a fall as we're going to have."
Watch 6 News' full interview with Coach Woodard below.
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