THOMASVILLE – Like other football coaches across Georgia, Thomasville High coach Zach Grage is away from his team this week, and for at least the rest of March, due to concerns over the spread of the  coronavirus pandemic. And like his coaching brethren, Grage is hopeful the team veterans are showing leadership during this hiatus of being away from school.

“It’s extremely difficult, especially with the parks being closed down and basically anywhere our kids are able to go run around and do things on their own, outside of their front yard; everywhere seems to be closed,” Grage said. “The good thing we’ve got coming back with this team is a great group of leaders. 

“Our leaders have done a really good job of keeping everybody together.”

Thomasville will return a lot of veteran leadership from last year’s team, including freshmen and sophomores, that finished 9-5, captured the Region 1-AA championship and advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1993. 

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp mandated that all Georgia schools and colleges be closed through at least March 31. The Georgia High School Association extended its mandatory closure for  all sports and activities through the end of the month.

“I think everybody’s saying the same thing; you made so many gains from January to March and now you’re really trying not to lose those gains that you made heading into, hopefully, spring ball,” Grage said. “The biggest thing for us right now is making sure our kids are taking in the calories and taking care of their bodies; the weight gain you want to get your kids in the offseason because you burn it off of them in the summer time.

“That’s the biggest concern for us; making sure we reach the kids and making sure they’re being fed the right way and pumped up with those calories which are crucial at this time.”

Depending on when and if Georgia schools are allowed to re-open this year, Thomasville’s spring practice and continued development for the 2020 season could be in jeopardy.

“I’m hoping right now that we’re able to, get these two and a half weeks off, and hopefully things can settle down by then and we’re able to get back to normalcy,” Grage said. “But if not, you’ve got to have that (backup) plan in the back of your mind.

“The development of the team is definitely going to suffer but you put it in the back of your head, too, everybody’s in the same boat. Everybody’s going to be playing a little bit of catch up.”