Today’s interviewee is Newton coach Camiel Grant, whose team returned to practice this week after Newton County Schools lifted its indefinite suspension of sports, which lasted two weeks. Newton made the playoffs with a 7-4 record last year in Grant’s first full season. [Grant’s first name rhymes with Sammy L.]
Camiel Grant, Newton head coach
1. What was your reaction to Tuesday’s news? “It was quicker than what I expected. That was my first thought. Once we were down, I expected it to last a little longer. To be honest, I had mixed emotions. I definitely missed the kids and being out coaching ball, but I’m also one of those people that’s not quite sure that we’ve gotten a handle on the football piece and how to make it as safe as possible. There are a lot of things we can’t control, and I’m not sure we’ve put enough things in place to give ourselves the best chance to start and finish the season.”
2. What are your main concerns in regard to safety? “When I look over sports, whether it’s our level or the collegiate level or the professional level, the model seems to be, ‘Let’s get a test done to see what we have. If somebody has the virus, let’s isolate them appropriately. Then when we start competitions, we know we’re starting with two clean teams.’ At the high school level, we obviously don’t have those type of funds and resources, and a lot of things we can’t mandate. As it stands, we’ll enter into a contest week after week with no way to know for sure that both teams are clean.”
3. Would you have advised waiting longer? “I don’t think that waiting any longer would’ve helped us, to be honest. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t get too caught up in when a vaccine may be available. But I do think from the GHSA level and maybe even from the governor we could have a strong suggestion to parents, ‘Hey, before we get started, we’d strongly suggest you have your kids tested.’ That way, we could’ve started with a better idea of who needed to be isolated to begin with, then made another strong suggestion to parents and kids, ‘We need you to limit your movement. Come to practice, go home, be around your immediate family and limit as much extra contract as possible.’ The kids, the parents, the coaches, they want to play. With a recommendation like that, I believe most would’ve done their best to follow that.” [Newton is one of several teams that have shut down practices because of positive tests among players or staff. The Rams last practiced three weeks ago, a week longer than the school district’s ban.]
4. How does your team look this season? “I think any of us in this business is always optimistic when it comes to believing you can accomplishing things. You always preach to your kids about staying in the moment, not thinking too far ahead, playing this game like it might be your last. Now I believe that message will really resonate. In terms of talent, we feel we’re as talented as any team in our region, and our region is talented. The biggest deal will be how our new quarterback progresses. We bring back a lot on defense, and that’s always big. Most of our offensive line is back. We’re solid at running back. I was never worried about being able to compete. This whole COVID thing going on will allow us to have a different focus and mindset in terms of, ‘Hey guys, let’s stay in the moment because none of this is promised.’”
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