With upward COVID trends all in-person classes and athletics are on hold in the Liberty County School System.
The Liberty County Panthers were scheduled to play their crosstown rivals on Friday, Aug. 27.
That was until news broke on Wednesday that the school system was shutting down and going virtual until Sept. 10.
This also included athletics.
With the Bradwell game being cancelled, the Panthers will also miss out on their Sept. 3 game against Effingham County.
The Panthers currently sit at an 0-1 record after falling to Baldwin in their season opener.
The Coastal Courier was able to get in touch with Panthers’ head coach Kirk Warner for an interview regarding the cancellation of games and the future of the team moving forward this season.
What kind of headspace is the team in after receiving the disappointing news on Wednesday night?
Warner: “After the way we lost week, you’re normally chomping at the bit to come back the next week to show everybody what we’re made of. But with this COVID outbreak, we’re going to have to wait a little while to do that.”
How does the cancellations and not physically being around each other affect the team?
Warner: “It different, man. We went through this last year so it’s not like it’s totally new. We implemented some things last year so we’re going to do the same thing. We’re going to stay in contact with them. They got to be mature and go out to do some of the physical stuff on their own. We told them that preferably, we’ll be back on the 13th and the better conditioned we are, the less time we spend on it once we get back.”
What are some things that you want your team to focus on during their time away?
Warner: “We want to keep our guys mentally sharp. We did a lot of cramping against Baldwin, so we have to get them to work out at home and stay in physical shape. We’re going to Google Meet with them and keep them updated on the mental aspect of the game.”
What is the update regarding rescheduling games?
Warner: “Right now, we’re just on hold. Once we get the ok to come back to school on the 13th, we’ll take it from there. But any games that’s before then have definitely been canceled. There’s not much room to reschedule because you’re starting your region schedule and those games are locked in.”
What are you looking for from your team when they come back from quarantine?
Warner: “We’re going to hit the ground running. We got off to a good start as far as what we wanted to do with the exception of executing against Baldwin. We’re just going to carry on as usual because we’ve done this before last year. We’re going about our business as usual when we come back.”