The NK 2020-2021 football season will hopefully start in early March, and will go on until late April for the state of Rhode Island, due to COVID concerns. 

The NK football season will be postponed until early March, but has yet to have a specific starting date. The team is getting ready for the season by starting practice on Monday, Oct. 12, and will have practices every Monday and Wednesday until it is time for the regular season. 

The season will look a lot different due to the amount of spectators that will be allowed to attend the games. Due to the passing of the athletic director, Dick Fossa, the new athletic director that will be taking over is Mr. Christopher Cobain. According to Cobain, “Presently, we are doing two parent passes per athlete for fall sports,” meaning that it could be the same for the football season that is considered in fall two sports. However, they are not sure if any students are going to be allowed to watch the game. 

Due to the concerns about the Coronavirus, players and the coaching staff would have to stay healthy in order to participate this year. According to Cobain, if a player or coach were to catch or be in close contact with a person with COVID-19, “We would need to report this information to the RIDOH. If they determine there was close contact they will need to review the roster/coaching staff/others in contact and determine who may need to be quarantined. Quarantine would be for 14 days.” 

According to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, “Student athletes, coaches, and staff should be screened daily with a questionnaire.” The reason for this is so coaches know if a player and coach has symptoms or has been in close contact with a person with COVID-19. Also, if a player does catch illness, then they would not be allowed to participate until their symptoms disappear. They then will slowly be able to participate in practices. Check the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s website here.

Football head coach, Mr. Francis Dempsey, has been busy with trying to organize everything to get ready for the season. He says that his biggest fear for the season is “keeping all of my players and coaches safe. If we are allowed to play, the x’s and o’s will take care of themselves. Everyone’s biggest concern has to be safety. I am confident that the NKSD administration, RIDOH, and the RIIL will have a solid plan that will keep everyone safe. We will follow all safety and health protocols. My next biggest concern is the seniors losing their senior season. This group of seniors has worked tremendously hard and my heart would break for them if they do not get the opportunity to play their final season​.”