Today’s interviewee is Hart County coach and athletic director Rance Gillespie, whose team had its Friday opener against Elbert County canceled late Tuesday because of a coronavirus outbreak at Elbert. Within hours, Gillespie had secured a new opponent. Hart now will travel to Wayne County, some 4.5 hours to the south. “They’re ranked No. 10 in 5A; we feel like we’re a top 10 team in 3A. So it should be a good battle,” Gillespie said. Wayne similarly lost its game earlier in the day with Statesboro.
Rance Gillespie, Hart County coach and AD
1. Go through this whirlwind with us. When did you hear from Elbert, and what was your reaction? “It was last night, probably around 8 o’clock. We feed our kids on Tuesday after practice, and we were coming in to meet as a staff and the phone rang, and it was Coach Jarvis [Shannon Jarvis of Elbert County], and he told me what was going on. My first reaction was disappointment. It’s an important game to our community. My second thought was how fast could I get him off the phone and see what else we could get going.”
2. Where did things go from there? Wasn’t the Corky Kell Classic and Parkview an option? [Parkview had lost its game Tuesday afternoon when Mill Creek canceled.] “Within probably a 20-minute time frame, we had talked as a staff, and we were going through everybody we could see that might need a game, looking around, searching. We had 10 men dialing numbers. We did talk with the Parkview coach. We eventually talked with Wayne, so we had all those things going at us. We seriously considered the Parkview thing but just decided to go with the Wayne game. We thought that was a better fit for our program at this stage. We talked with those two, and not counting Elbert we talked with at least one, two [adding them up in his mind], three, four. I’m thinking it was right at seven total within an hour. That’s the way 2020 is.”
3. What will it be like playing a team you know so little about on 2.5 days’ notice? “It will be like everything else this year. It will be a first. It’s like I told our kids this morning. Our kids are certainly disappointed they’re not getting to play Elbert. That’s a big rivalry game for us and our seniors. But it is what it is. We’re grateful we’re getting an opponent to play. That’s the way this year is going to be. The teams that can handle those emotional ups and downs and the quick changes are going to be the ones that are successful in this environment.”
4. What will Friday’s game be like logistically for a long, unexpected road trip? “We’re carrying two extra buses [six total] for social-distancing reasons and masking our kids while on the bus. All those things are going to be taking place. We’re taking extra precautions. Probably the biggest hurdle is feeding your kids. We’ve either got to find a place where we’re the only people in the restaurant or a place where we can eat outside all by ourselves. Those are the logistical hurdles you have to find answers for this year.”
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