NYC High School Football Kicks Off

Curtis High School vs. Susan E. Wagner High School (Fall 2019). Photo: Miguel Velandres.

By Quincy Barnes

In early March the de Blasio administration announced that high school sports will return starting April 5. 

Also, on March 25, the Catholic high school football league was given the green light for New York City and Westchester schools to participate in a spring season. 

However these announcements come with a caveat because a plethora of questions still remain.

Who will these teams play? Where will they play?  Are they prepared, in terms of both safety precautions and practice?

A head coach from one of the public school powerhouses in NYC expressed displeasure regarding the approach the leagues are taking. 

“We are going to play four games and then tell the kids at the end of June or July to get ready for the fall season?” the coach stated.  “I believe that is extremely unfair and places a lot of stress on the body of the student athlete”.

As of the end of March, it has been over 430 days since a (full) contact high school football game was played in New York City.

Just to put things into perspective, since that time: Bitcoin has gone from $7,000 to nearly $60,000; Donald Trump has been removed from Twitter; and over 30,000 city residents have died from Covid-19.

The extremely high COVID-19 numbers in the city and state caused the fall 2020 season to be cancelled.  Other major hot-spot states allowed the fall seasons to proceed, however. For example, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas all successfully played their schedules.

Because New York did not allow a fall season, highly scouted local talents including Staten Islanders Sam Martin, Jr., Logan Barnes, Eric O’Neil, and Kevin Smith opted to play out of state.

Programs in both public and Catholic schools have faced immense pressure to make a decision on spring football and the decisions have sparked controversy.

Some NYC coaches have echoed their sentiments and excitement on Twitter. “Looking forward to getting back here soon!” stated Curtis High School coach Peter Gambo.

Many other coaches also appreciate the opportunity, in particular for their graduating seniors. 

Catholic schools in the New York area are projected to have a schedule published within the next couple of days. 

The public school schedule is still up in the air. But on April 5, workouts begin.