Today’s interviewee is Steven Craft, the athletic director for Fulton County Schools. Craft also is one of 12 members of the Georgia High School Association’s board of trustees as the representative for Class 6A. He is a native of Dahlonega.
Steven Craft, Fulton County Schools AD
1. What went into the decision to delay sports competitions for Fulton County Schools until mid-September? “The number one priority for Fulton County Schools is ensuring the safety of our student-athletes and coaches. This decision to delay competitions was not made lightly. The district is working extremely hard to return our students to face-to-face instruction. The delay in athletic competitions lines up with our reopening matrix for instruction. Like all districts, we are constantly studying the data provided to us by the Fulton County Board of Health - positivity rate, 14-day trends, etc. We are also looking at our internal data from when we resumed workouts and practices on June 15. Fulton County Schools remains committed to providing a fall season for our student-athletes. This delay helps to ensure that we will be ready to move forward on Sept.14. As a district athletic director, I do not want to limit competitions, but I will gladly delay if it means we can have a season.”
2. What are the protocols that FCS has used to protect students and staff? “I am extremely proud of the job that our coaches, trainers and staff have done since we resumed workouts and practices on June 15. They have embraced a culture of cleaning, and they have done everything they could to provide the safest environment possible for our student-athletes. Since the return to athletics, Fulton County Schools has demonstrated a very measured and diligent approach. Overall, we moved slower than other districts and what the GHSA allowed. We kept our group sizes smaller, and we only allowed fall sports to return to conditioning. This week is the first week that we have allowed our entire teams to practice together. Other protocols we instituted include asking screening questions of our athletes and coaches prior to workouts and implementing temperature checks for all athletes, coaches and managers. We have also developed cleaning protocols for the weight room, practice facilities and other athletic areas. We use contact tracing for any athletes that have tested positive. The coordinator of student health services and her team have provided amazing support as we work through any positive cases. We are currently working on plans concerning stadium capacity and protocols for when we resume hosting athletic competitions.”
3. You believe that Fulton’s schools need more time to start the football season. As a member of the GHSA’s board of trustees, do you feel that the state as a whole needs more time? What’s your position on football games beginning the week of Sept. 4? “This is a difficult question to answer. The state of Georgia is a very large state with very different population densities. It is always important to remember that areas can and will be impacted very differently. COVID-19 has impacted the metro area harder than say areas in North Georgia, Coastal Georgia, Middle Georgia or in South Georgia. For example, Fulton County Schools was the first school district to report a positive case in March prior to the entire state shutting down. As a member of the board of trustees, I am always going to gather input from the other state executive members. I have a duty to represent all of the 6A schools and the other schools in the state of Georgia. I do believe that several areas of the state are ready to move forward with the season. The GHSA has left this decision up to the individual school districts. The staff at the GHSA office is currently working hard to help the schools impacted by delays or cancellations to make up the missing football games. I will be excited for the teams that can start their seasons on Sept. 4, and I will be extremely excited to see the Fulton County football teams start on the 17th and 18th.”
4. I’m sure you get a lot of questions about the football season – Do you think it will start on time? Do you think we can play a full season? Do you expect more school systems to delay their seasons like Fulton did? With attention to those questions, how do you see the season progressing? “I do think that the football season will start on time for the school districts that are ready to move forward. I hope that everyone will get the opportunity to play a full or close to full season. We know that the virus is not going away, and each school will have to be ready to deal with positive cases and potential quarantines. There will be some teams that miss games due to COVID-19, and they will need to work with their individual regions to try to make up these games if possible. Several districts have made the decision to delay or cancel their seasons. I would not be surprised if other districts make similar decisions. Each district must make the best decision in their eyes for their student-athletes and coaches. I definitely do not have a crystal ball, but I will remain confident and optimistic that we will have football games this fall.”
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