NORTH CAROLINA – High school sports are back in North Carolina. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released a new 2020-21 calendar Wednesday detailing when teams can starting practicing and competing.

What You Need To Know

  • High school sports have been on hold since March when the coronavirus pandemic closed schools

  • Wednesday the NCHSAA released the 2020-21 sports schedule

  • The earliest sports can begin practicing is November 4, with some fall sports now moved to the spring

Curtis Neal, a junior at Hough High School in Cornelius, is itching to get back on the football field.

“That’s my therapy for me is to just go on the field and hit people,” he says. “I channel so much energy in my body, so I just be ready to go.”

In Pender County, Ronnie Pruitt, the athletic director at Heide Trask High School has also been waiting for answers on when students can return to their teams.

“I try not to get my blood pressure up or anything like that, so just rolling with the punches and taking this thing one day at a time,” Pruitt says.

Wednesday, the NCHSAA released the new schedule with some notable changes. The earliest sports can practice is November 4, and some fall sports, like football, were moved to the spring.

“I honestly thought our season was going to get canceled just fully. But it’s something, you feel me? It’s something,” Neal says.

Pruitt says the schedule comes with challenges when it comes to sharing coaches and athletes.

“We’re a small 2A high school, and we share a lot of athletes. A lot of athletes play multisports and that’s the first negative that I thought about,” he says. “The other concern that comes up to me too with being a small high school is we got coaches that coach more than one sport.”

Both Pruitt and Neal agree, regardless of when the teams will take the field, the feeling of competing is worth the wait.