Gregory Cross

St. Louis Schools Move Kickoff to Spring

The St. Louis Public High League opens its season in March for the first time in school history after suspending play in the fall caused by COVID-19.

The Rough Riders of Roosevelt High School waited over a year to play football.

476 days to be exact.

Saturday, March 13, marked the first time that any public high school in St. Louis would play a sanctioned contest during their second semester.

When the Roosevelt squad played their last game back on November 23 2019 against Kennett High School, they had no idea it would be more than a full year before they would be allowed to lace up their cleats again.

Difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have forced changes to how schools operate. However, for the first time in St. Louis Public School history, the senior high football programs will shift their seasons to the spring months rather than the traditional fall.

This development was an unexpected change to those hoping to return to normalcy after COVID-19 brought the spring and summer of 2020 to a halt. On September 30, 2020, St. Louis City government invoked a limit on youth sports citing football as a “high-frequency contact sport” which left schools the option to commit to a fall season and risk canceling if a positive test occurs, or make the change to spring in hopes of waiting out the pandemic for a late start.

The Public High League, or PHL, features 11 schools all located within St. Louis, and are among a group of schools that opted for the spring. The Roosevelt High School Rough Riders and the Gateway STEM Jaguars, both belonging to the PHL, faced off Saturday to warm March weather rather than to the chilly September days they were accustomed to.

Roosevelt High School’s athletic director, Keith Rodgers, explained the difficulties he has faced while making adjustments to the school’s first spring season in its 96-year existence, “getting COVID-19 testing every day, making sure that all the students are having COVID-19 tests and being able to get their families to participate.”

While Rodgers had no trouble scheduling games against conference teams, filling in the rest of his calendar was tough. “With the PHL teams there's no problem but outside of the district, it's kind of hard because most of the teams played in the regular [fall] season,” said Rodgers.

After being sidelined for over a year, the athlete’s mental health became a concern for Rodgers, “I think this brings up morale for them, they have been waiting for this...they wanted to have a season so they're getting to have what they wanted to have, and this is something good for them.”

Tyrone Swinton, the director of safety and security at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, stopped by the contest to check out the local talent for himself and experience the season opener. Having worked with some of the participants in the past, Swinton knows how much this means to the players, “a lot of these kids are working hard and trying to, you know, make a name for themselves on the football field for just the love of the game or even for academic pursuits at the next level.” said Swinton. “So having the opportunity to not lose out on their season, it's like huge.”

PHL will continue its season with the new policies of regular COVID-19 testing and contract tracing. So far, eight PHL teams have competed and none of which have resulted in a positive test.