Tom KIng

And so it begins.

Yes, local high school sports, just in time for the return of summer heat, begin preparations for the fall season.

The mind is working in a few different directions. First, we remember all the precautions of the fall of 2020 and beyond. The team pauses. The fan restrictions and lack of crowds. The social distancing, the temperature-taking, the masks.

Second, can we celebrate like many did at the end of the spring season, that we had escaped pandemic danger? We’ll have to see. As Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras said, the rules can change at a moment’s notice, and one rule did this past week as, for now, indoor athletic events will require masks for all, student-athletes and fans alike.

Safety first.

Gingras and Nashua had policies that were stricter than a lot of other school districts. Privately, the entire state was watching to see what Nashua would do and how things were implemented, and followed suit.

Everything worked. Gingras’ coaches had to do a lot of extra work, and did so willingly, so the athletes could play. Outdoors, no one near the team benches, not even the media. ‘Keep the student-athletes as safe as possible’ was the mantra, and we were all glad to do so. That’s because the pandemic was and still is the ultimate case of Better Safe Than Sorry.

And when the school athletic year ended, no one was sorry, and local high school sports were as safe as could be.

Many, especially coaches, lauded Gingras for her work. It had to be difficult and emotional, with all sorts of factions pulling at the athletic department. Students couldn’t be at games in groups, because tickets and passes were for family members only. No visiting fans could attend.

Student athletes could wear masks if they wanted in the fall, but come winter with everything indoors, they had no choice, and were required to mask up. Winter track athletes had to be told there’d be no competitive season for the most part because of lack of venues (colleges weren’t opening their doors, understandably so). Yet they used the time wisely, and Nashua North captured two outdoor track titles in the spring.

Gingras had Nashua Director of Public Health and Community Services Bobbie Bagley on speed dial. If there was any community outbreak, teams had to be put on pause so that contact tracing could confirm there’d be no exposure.

Believe it, a lot went into making sure all the seasons could be played through to the end.

And they were. Gingras was privately lauded by her coaches, who marveled at her persistence in making sure all the protocols were followed and her insistence that the student-athletes safety and ability to play within that safety zone was Priority Number One.

Like we said, not easy. For athletic directors, the spring can be a nightmare with rainouts and reschedulings.

But when an AD called Gingras during the spring to reschedule a game, it was almost a relief dealing with something, she said, that wasn’t related to COVID.

We will see how things progress. But we will all learn from last year, and hopefully realize that all the necessary safety measures were worth it, for the good of all involved.

And they’ll continue to be that way. Let the Fall Sports Season of 2021, in the midst of summer warmth, begin.

Fingers crossed, and thumbs up.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.