The OHSAA recently announced that the “no contact” period for high school sports teams will be lifted on Tuesday, May 26 as part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s Responsible Restart Ohio plan.  Sophomore Dylan Gamber, a member of the varsity football team, was able to sit down with Paw Print writer, Makayla DePinto, to discuss the possible plans for football next year.

The Paw Print: How has the football team been adjusting to these recent changes because of Covid-19?

Dylan Gamber: Since Covid-19 began, the football team has been doing weekly Zoom meetings to discuss plays and assignments throughout the time. They’ve also been giving us workouts to do at home so we stay in shape so we can get right back to where we were.

The Paw Print: Do you like the virtual aspect of all of this?

Gamber: Personally, I’d rather be in the gym with the team but Zoom calls work; this is the best we can do and it works perfectly because the coaches and the players get to communicate still outside of football practices.

The Paw Print: Do you think there is a possibility of coming back to regular practices/camps soon?

Gamber: We’ve been cleared to return to working out and conditioning June 1 and camps come soon after that, so yes, we will be able to return soon.

The Paw Print: Will this return be full-on contact or will it be done in phases?

Gamber: We’re not sure yet, but we’re assuming we’re going to be able to practice with full contact sometime before the season starts.

The Paw Print: How have you been preparing yourself for a possible football season next year?

Gamber: I’ve been preparing by lifting daily, and doing conditioning is awesome and doing agility stuff at home. Also, working on baseball is keeping me in shape.

The Paw Print: Is this an ordinary schedule for you or has COVID-19 changed that?

Gamber: Well, I’ve had less work on the field but that’s allowed me to put more time in the gym to get stronger for next year.

The Paw Print: How do you think football games will change for everyone?

Gamber: Basically, football is a close contact sport. There’s nothing really you can change. Maybe we have to wear like a mask of some sort (that’s not like the ones that the surgery people wear), but like a tight-fitting mask of some sort but that’s about the only thing we can really change.

The Paw Print: Wearing a mask while playing a hard sport may cause a lot of issues with players breathing and other things along that line.

Gamber: It might but we will hopefully not have to worry about that for a while.

The Paw Print: How has the coronavirus closer motivated you during this time?

Gamber: During this time, I’ve just been motivating myself because that’s the only way to get better, so I’ve had to push myself to still get better every day and be prepared for the next football season to come. I got myself a starting spot, working out every day by myself trying to get stronger.

The Paw Print: Do you think the Coronavirus closure will make the team stronger?

Gamber: This will make us stronger because we had to go through Zoom so we can get back together. We’re going to be even more ready to move forward and we want to win now more than ever. I think this time away from each other is going to make us be able to let us come back and get right back in it again and grind.

The Paw Print: It seems like having to put in the extra work to get together as a team made all of you stronger.

Gamber: It definitely has. We’ve all been reaching out to one another to keep each other motivated as well as share our own improvements.

The Paw Print: Thank you for your time and have a great season!