Meridian’s Alliance Football Club began soccer practices this week after the city’s parks and recreation department approved its resumption under strict guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, AFC committee chairman Rusty Warden said.

Under the guidelines, teams must stay on their designated field — practicing on every other field is preferred, coaches and players must keep a 6-foot distance from each other and huddles are prohibited. Parents who watch practices are encouraged to stay in their vehicles and must wear a mask if they get out and remain 10 feet apart from others. 

“We just ask everybody to abide by (the guidelines) and respect it, and we told them that if there were teams or players or parents that were not abiding by it, blatantly not following the rules, that they have to leave,” Warden said. “But it’s been really well-received. Everybody that I’ve seen seems to be following the rules, and the kids are just generally happy to be outside quite frankly.”

Warden said the AFC has added their own rules in addition to the city’s, including having coaches use and distribute hand sanitizer and keeping practices to one hour. No games will be played. 

Like so many other teams and organizations, Warden said the AFC has also experienced the disappointment the coronavirus has caused this spring. One of its girls teams was just the second in club history and one of eight squads among six states to qualify for regional competition. They played four games before their season was canceled.

Those within the AFC have bonded these last several weeks, Warden added, in communication and adapting to the circumstances in ultimately getting kids on the field.

“It’s just been a significant challenge over the course of the last two months that we have basically not assembled at all,” he said. “We’ve done a really good job of staying connected during this time with the use of the Internet and Zoom calls, and other things. As a group I think we’ve become closer through this.”

Warden added he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of competition at the State Games of Mississippi, which at the moment has not canceled its annual event.  

Meanwhile, the Meridian Youth Soccer Organization has canceled its season, MYSO president Matt Castleberry said. Those who had registered and participated at the start of the spring were issued credits for next year based on how many games were remaining. 

“You never want to make that call,” Castleberry said. “You never want to tell kids they don’t get to play, but at the end of the day we just didn’t feel right, with everything going on, that it would be safe to get back out there and have 30, 40, 50 people close together on a field playing games.” 

The MYSO’s fall season is tentative, Castleberry added, and it’s a goal the organization has set by maintaining open registration.  

“For the most part, everybody’s been pretty understanding,” he said. “My personal feeling, having two school-aged children at home, is they are probably more concerned with getting through the day than sports at the moment. I get it, it’s tough for everybody.”