Local SCISA coaches navigate messy week due to TS Debby

This week has been extremely complicated for coaches across South Carolina. As Tropical Storm Debby hit, schools and coaches had to try to guess the future, hoping to dodge bad weather in the process.

SCHSL and SCISA schools had very different protocols this week, mostly because of school schedules. SCHSL schools were largely in session this week, meaning they couldn't practice if school was canceled. SCISA schools, meanwhile, haven't started yet, so they all had varying levels of flexibility this week.

Wilson Hall, for example, was largely unaffected. Head coach Adam Jarecki moved practice inside on Tuesday and cancelled one practice on Wednesday, but it was pretty smooth sailing otherwise, all things considered. They were forced to move a scrimmage at Pee Dee Academy that was scheduled for Friday, but it was simple enough to push back to next Tuesday.

"Other than messing up my schedule and making me change what we were planning to do, we've only missed one day," Jarecki said. "We were limited with what we could do (Thursday) because it was such a slop mess, but I only missed one day, so it wasn't a terrible thing for us."

For Jarecki, the missed week was relatively painless. They started practice on July 25 and scrimmaged last week, so limited practices weren't as detrimental as they would've been in the first week. The Barons also have the benefit of continuity. While they're replacing a large and talented senior class from a year ago, many of their players have been in the program for at least a year or two. Jarecki has also set a standard for the program, with which the kids are familiar.

"We're kinda ahead of the game in some ways with the work we did this summer and having some guys that have played some in these spots," Jarecki said. "We still have a lot that we have to get in, I really wanted to concentrate on special teams in the middle of this week to get ready for our scrimmage.

"The scrimmages, that's where the bulk of our contact is, we're not going to beat on each other out there. That changes things, but other than missing one day, it didn't have a big affect."

Over at Laurence Manning, the Swampcats weren't as lucky. They were unable to practice until Thursday. Luckily, they didn't have a scrimmage set for this week, so they had one less thing to reschedule.

The lost time affects LMA a bit more because of their coaching change. Will Furse is now at Lee Academy and his replacement, Robbie Briggs, didn't get a full offseason with the 'Cats. Briggs has been able to lean on his coaching experience to deal with a messy week, but he definitely would've loved to have at least a practice or two back.

"It's frustrating from a standpoint of us not having a spring ball session," he said. "But our guys are professionals when they come in, so that's important when it comes to getting the most out of every opportunity that we have to practice.

"As a head coach for so many years, you get to a point where you understand you can only control what I can control."

Briggs is just focused on making sure that they have the best practices possible when they hit the field and continue to improve throughout the season.

"It's important for us as coaches to have patience and just get better every day, regardless of the circumstances," Briggs said. "We talk to our kids about being great in November. With that being said, we just try to stack good days on top of each other."

Furse, meanwhile, had a rollercoaster week of his own at Lee Academy. Bishopville got hit a bit harder than Sumter and Clarendon Counties, so they've been a bit more limited. Luckily, the Cavs squeezed in a practice on Monday before being sidelined until Friday, when they turned a jamboree at Cardinal Newman into a scrimmage against Ben Lippen.

"We had a good practice Monday and we've been shut down ever since. I haven't seen by guys since then," Furse said Thursday afternoon. "It definitely puts you behind schedule some, but you never know what's going to happen in season. If we're going to miss days of practice, I'd rather miss them right now."

While he's in his first year at Lee, Furse was able to run some of the spring activities for the Cavaliers, so he had a head start compared to some new coaches. The biggest loss this week is not being able to build off a scrimmage last week against Florence Christian. They had one day to work on mistakes and then went into a standstill.

"We kinda felt like we were building some momentum and then it comes to a screeching halt," Furse said. "But it's out of your control, so you can't dwell on it too much. It just puts more emphasis on the remaining practices we do have."

What hurts the most for the Cavaliers is their schedule. Lee has a Week 0 game next week, a full week ahead of Week 0 games for SCHSL teams and ahead of most local SCISA schools. That game led to Furse prioritizing Friday's scrimmage with Ben Lippen so they can be as prepared as possible.

"It's not going to change a whole lot; it's going to be like a normal game week. We're going to practice Saturday, so hopefully we'll be able to put the scrimmage behind us, make corrections from the scrimmage and really emphasize special teams," Furse said. 'Then on Monday we'll be ready to roll with our typical game week of practice."