OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — It's the start of the NFL season Thursday, but fall sports continue to be on hold for many student-athletes.
But a proposal in the works is looking to bring some answers for families in Omaha Public Schools.
"The proposal requests dual participation for athletes to participate in fall and spring sports simultaneously," said Stephen Eubanks, Supervisor of Athletics for OPS.
Eubanks announced that plan during Tuesday's special meeting. He admits the proposal is complex and raises various concerns, including how some fall coaches also coach in the spring, and the demand it puts on student-athletes who want to play multiple sports.
"We really feel for our spring kids, they didn't have a season at all last year, so how do you manage a young person participating in a fall sport and a spring sport at the same time, is it truly healthy? There has to be great co-operation between coaches, and it's difficult," said Eubanks.
Not only stress on student-athletes but stress on the fields they play on from over-usage. Eubanks also says those athletes must attend practices and contests daily, even on the non-in person learning days.
"Without that, we cannot compete at the NSAA level with students only coming partially or competing on the days that they're present," said Eubanks.
He adds athletics will be ready to go if they get the green light as they continue to address those concerns.
"It's our job in athletics to make sure that once it is deemed to be safe that we have the protocols and guidelines in place to ensure the safety of those athletes," said Eubanks.
Again, this proposal is still in the works. No word on when the finished proposal will be submitted to the NSAA. In response to that proposal, the NSAA says they don't know for sure what the proposal is going to say, so they need to see it first before they will comment.