As a select number of teams begin preparing to play fall sports during the upcoming “Fall Sports I” season that begins Sept. 18, the idea of adapting to the latest safety modifications approved by the MIAA COVID-19 Task Force is becoming a reality. The Bishop Fenwick girls soccer team is one of the few that will be taking the field, and for Fenwick girls soccer coach Steve Flaherty, making the rule changes is a necessary step in order to get back out there safely.
“The rules will be strict, but I’d rather be out there playing under the new rules than have us not be playing at all,” said Flaherty. “It’s going to be tough just wrapping our heads around how many new rules there are, and then we’re just going to have to figure out a way to play within them.”
Probably the biggest rule change is the outlawing of the act of heading the ball. With heading being such a crucial part of the game, Flaherty sees this rule change as the toughest to overcome.
“It’s such a huge part of the game, it’s mostly muscle memory for these girls at this point,” said Flaherty. “That’s probably going to be the toughest rule to work with, but we’re going to have to adapt and find a way. Everyone else will be dealing with the same issues, so it’s just one of those things.”
But heading the ball isn’t the only thing that’s been outlawed. Any intentional bodily contact, corner kicks, defensive “walls,” timeouts, slide tackles and cheerleaders are among the many other things that will not be allowed this fall season according to the latest safety modifications.
With the amount of rule changes that have taken place, Flaherty knows that the first couple weeks of the season will be a learning process for all involved.
“I think that for most of the new rule changes, we can adapt pretty easily to those things and not have too many issues,” said Flaherty. “For other rules, like the corner kicks and things like that, we’re just going to have to adjust. Playing the ball in the air is something that we won’t be able to do as much.”
Even the structure of the game will be different than normal. Instead of two halves, the game will be divided into four quarters with a two-minute break in between. Halftime will still be 10 minutes long.
But even with all the rule changes, the Crusaders are just happy to be getting back on the field. Fenwick had a solid season in 2019, going 11-5-2 in the regular season and earning a No. 8 seed in the Division 3 North tournament. The Crusaders made it through to the quarterfinal round before bowing out.
“The team is just raring to go,” said Flaherty. “Most of our girls are coming back from last year and they’ve been waiting all summer to see what was going to happen this fall, so I know they’re going to come out swinging. We’ll have a better idea of how we stand once practice starts, but the excitement is already there.”
Fenwick will be able to begin meeting as a team and holding practices on Sept. 18, with the first game of the season coming in early October.