High schools across the country are trying to figure out how and when students might return to classrooms this fall. Many are also making sure their star quarterbacks and other athletes will be in shape when they do.
While states have been easing the economic and social lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, some are now letting high school athletes return for summer workouts before teachers have even figured out how they are going to hold classroom instruction.
In places like Texas and Florida, where the “Friday Night Lights” culture of high school football runs deep, strength and conditioning sessions are bringing thousands of athletes to school for workouts, even while those states are seeing record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations since Memorial Day.
Some schools have already been sent scrambling when a player tests positive.
