SWFL high school football coaches try to keep players safe from COVID but avoid discussing vaccine

As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to spike in Southwest Florida, high school football coaches are asking their players to be as safe and smart as possible to avoid an interruption to the season.

Already this year, seven local games have been canceled due to cases of the coronavirus within a local football program. In the first two weeks of the regular season, more than 16 percent of the scheduled games have been called off due to the disease.

A missed game could negatively impact a team’s postseason chances. A positive test before the playoffs could end the season prematurely. And for seniors who are hoping to earn college scholarships, any missed playing time is a missed opportunity to compile highlights for their recruiting videos.

“We tell our guys to be responsible and don’t be selfish,” Naples High coach Rick Martin said. “Don’t do something to jeopardize a game or jeopardize you or others from playing.”

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This is the second football season that’s been played in the shadow of COVID. However, this season the disease is much more rampant in the community than last year.

The seven-day case averages in both Collier and Lee counties are 10-times higher than they were when football kicked off in September 2020. Back then the seven-day average was 33 cases per day in Collier and 61 in Lee. Now they’re 325 in Collier and 1,100 in Lee.

As the numbers go up, football coaches are more concerned for the safety of their players. They’re also worried about having to shut down practices and miss games because of the virus. So far this season, five high school football programs in Lee County have had to halt all activity because of COVID (no teams in Collier County have been shut down).

An unvaccinated player who tests positive has to quarantine until he receives a negative test and is asymptomatic. However, a player could miss games even if he doesn’t test positive. An unvaccinated student in the Collier or Lee public schools who has close contact with a COVID-19 case must stay away from school for at least five days, even if he or she is asymptomatic.

Last season, Ida Baker linebacker Zach Malpica had to miss two games because someone close to him in class contracted the coronavirus. Malpica did not test positive for COVID-19.

A 6-foot-3, 240-pound two-way player, Malpica has dreams of playing Division I college football. He has an offer from FAU. Last season already was shortened due to the pandemic, so missing two games meant Malpica missed a quarter of his junior season, which is a critical year for high school recruits.

“That’s the thing that was so frustrating. He wasn’t sick himself,” said Rob Malpica, Zach’s father and a former coach in the area. “When you’re trying to put together (highlight) film, it’s hard enough even when you have a full season.”

This year, as Zach Malpica prepared to play his final high school season, his dad – who is a home health nurse – had a message for all the athletes in the area.

On Aug. 19, the day before preseason football games, Rob Malpica wrote on Twitter: “239 coaches and players, GET VACCINATED! This isn't about politics. It’s about preserving this season for these kids. We've suffered enough, this is their last chance to show out on film. If you've been vaccinated you won't get quarantined if some random kid in your class has COVID.”

Coaches in Collier and Lee counties won’t discuss COVID vaccines

According to Collier County Public Schools and Lee County Schools protocols, vaccinated students do not have to miss school – or sports – if they have close contact with a COVID case, as long as they are asymptomatic.

“A fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic player exposed to a positive would not have to miss a practice or game,” Lee Schools media relations director Rob Spicker said. “We shared that message with our coaches so players had that information as they considered with their families whether or not to get the vaccine.”

The Collier County school district follows the same procedures.

“The contact tracing for sports, clubs, band, and other after-school activities mirror our school-based procedures,” CCPS communications director Chad Oliver said. “Accordingly, if one athlete tests positive, that is not an indicator for an entire team to cease practicing.”

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Coaches in Southwest Florida said they’re making sure players know the districts’ rules. However, most coaches have stopped short of recommending the vaccine, saying it should be a private decision for families.

“I don’t believe I have the authority or the right,” Fort Myers coach Sam Sirianni Jr. said.

“We encourage everybody to speak to their medical professionals and get advice on the vaccine, and let them make their own decisions,” said Community School of Naples coach Paul Selvidio.

Gulf Coast coach Todd Nichols said COVID is a topic of conversation almost daily. The Sharks football team constantly is cognizant of social distancing and limiting close contact when they aren’t on the field.

“I tell them what I know, I don’t get into personal beliefs,” Nichols said. “The fact is, (COVID-19) is real, it spreads, and we’ve got to be smart.”

Still, like other coaches, Nichols shies away from talking about the vaccine. He only tells players what the protocols are and doesn’t make recommendations to get the vaccine or not.

“If they ask questions, I tell them what the (school) district tells us,” Nichols said. “That’s my job as a district employee.”

Coaches recognize the vaccine is a hot-button issue. Especially those in Lee County, which made national news this week because of the fiery backlash parents had to the public schools' mask mandate that went into effect Wednesday.

That same day, Lehigh football coach James Chaney posted on Twitter imploring parents to do all they could to keep their kids healthy. Chaney wasn’t specifically talking about the coronavirus – he mentioned getting enough sleep and proper nutrition when interviewed by the Daily News. However, he did say his family wore masks to protect themselves from the disease.

But even when asking players to stay safe, Chaney said he does not discuss vaccination with his team.

“That’s an area I leave alone,” Chaney said. “It’s such a hot topic right now. After seeing the reaction (the schools) got to the mask mandate, it’s probably smart for me to stay away from that.”

If football teams can mitigate COVID-19 risk factors, it can mean they don’t have to miss games. Teams are trying to limit their time close together, for example in meetings, to less than 15 minutes.

Last week Lely football coach J.J. Everage and several assistant coaches missed their game against Bishop Verot because of COVID-19.

However, the Trojans were allowed to play because they had followed the close-contact protocols during the week.

“A scenario where a coach or coaches test positive for COVID-19 does not indicate that the entire football team or sports program is quarantined,” CCPS communications specialist Jennifer Kupiec said. “Only those players that had direct and sustained contact with coaches for more than 15 minutes would be required to quarantine.”

Looking at the numbers. Collier vs. Lee schools on COVID cases

Collier County public high schools have had fewer COVID-19 cases than those in Lee County. As of Wednesday, 2.22 percent of students have tested positive at Collier’s seven schools with football teams. Among Lee’s 15 football schools, 4.47 percent of students have tested positive.

The percent of students who have gotten COVID is less than 2 percent at four of the seven football schools in Collier. The highest rate in the county is at Gulf Coast (3.65 percent of students) and Palmetto Ridge (3.53).

Only two of the 15 football schools in Lee County have a COVID rate less than 3 percent among their students. Six of them are above 5 percent.

Where are the higher Florida vaccination rates?:Which counties are the most and least vaccinated?

More:Lee schools shares climbing COVID-19 numbers as community, union call for changes

The highest percentage in either county is at Baker, where 6.61 percent of the students have tested positive.

On Friday night, Zach Malpica will be on Baker’s football field as the Bulldogs take on Cypress Lake and try to improve to 2-0.

As he watches the number of cases at his son’s school rise, Rob Malpica is all the more happy his two sons are vaccinated.

“I don’t want to make it a political thing, because I don’t want to get in the middle of all that,” Rob Malpica said. “It just comes down to, if you get vaccinated and (someone else tests positive) in the classroom, you won’t be one of the kids quarantined.”