Irvine High’s football coach Tom Ricci visits with quarterback Beck Moss during a camp in July 2019. (File photo courtesy Harrison Zhang, For OC Sports Zone)
Irvine High’s football team got almost one day of its athletic camp in on Monday with social distancing and a number of other safety guidelines.
Then, Coach Tom Ricci found out later in the day the camps throughout the Irvine Unified School District had been postponed because of new guidelines issued by the state and county health departments.
“We got to finish the majority of our practice before we got the news,” Ricci said. “It was great to be back with the boys and see the level of energy they brought to camp. It felt like I got kicked in the gut when I heard the news.
“Telling the boys and seeing their reaction was pretty heart wrenching. Our coaches did a great job with social distancing.”
Ricci said the weight room was arranged properly with x’s and arrows on the floor to “keep kids 10 feet away from each other.”
“I told our boys to that they upped their level today and they need to keep it going with the hopes that we will return once this is all sorted out,” Ricci said.
It is not know when or if the camps will resume and the start of the season is also up in the air. CIF officials are planning an update on fall sports, including football on Monday, July 20.
“I was really hopeful that once we started camp we would be able to roll right into season, but now I’m pretty sure season will be pushed back into spring semester,” Ricci said. “I just want it to happen in some form or another for my players.”
PLAYERS AND COACHES WONDER WHAT’S AHEAD
-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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