He is 69 years old and taking the coronavirus as seriously as anyone. West Central football coach Steve Milder weekly gets on the state’s Test Iowa website and answers questions that eventually lead to the site telling him he is either qualified to get a COVID-19 test or not qualified.
I can’t totally understand because nothing has changed in my life,” Milder said. “School is getting ready to start, and maybe they are looking at someone my age going into the school building. And football has started, too, so that maybe that would be the thing to do. I am going to go and be tested. Every time you get the sniffles, every time you get a little of your allergies kicking in, you wonder if you have COVID. That’s what they recommended, I can go and get a passcode for drive through, and that’s what I’m going to do.
If for some reason, Milder’s test this week comes back positive, his team will most likely be shut down for at least two weeks. If anyone anywhere tests positive, it’s a two-week shutdown, depending on the advice of their county’s health department.How many of these will there be? How many teams will be left standing after the scheduled seven-game regular season?
I don’t think ever in my career have we gone to practices as kids and coaches not knowing for sure if we will be playing in two weeks. We’ve never had this kind of uncertainty,” said Milder, in his 49th season of coaching. “The kids are fired up. I think this is the most enthusiastic start to a season that I’ve had in a long time. Where the kids are excited to get going again. They’ve been waiting to do something. That’s been good.
