Enterprise tennis coach Justin Sollie has had two bottles of GermX hand sanitizer by his classroom door since last August.

Sollie has Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that makes him immunocompromised, so he already has to be extra cautious when it comes to the potential spread of germs and viruses. Naturally, he’s been keeping up with the news about COVID-19 and its potential spread, and he knows about medical guidelines that implore people to wash their hands regularly. School is scheduled to resume next week with the conclusion of spring break, and Sollie plans to reiterate the importance of using the hand sanitizer.

“My athletes and students will have a good conversation starting Monday: When you come in and leave my classroom, you’re going to GermX and follow proper hygene,” Sollie said. “All of us at the high school will definitely be laying down the law come Monday morning.”

As a coach and sports fan, Sollie has watched college and professional sporting bodies either postpone or cancel their seasons, something he can only describe as surreal.

“That’s a great word for it,” Sollie said. “I’m just trying to process it all and come to terms with the fact that sports as we know it for the foreseeable future is going to be nonexistent, and that’s crazy.”

Closer to home, the Mississippi High School Activities Association released a statement Thursday saying it’s monitoring the COVID-19 situation and is forming contingency plans “if statewide school cancellations or delays occur and will be implemented if necessary by the MHSAA.” It goes on to state that “local school administrators reserve the right to postpone any contest or competition.”

As of now, spring sports are still on in the MHSAA, and Sollie said future decisions about spring sports will likely be determined by whether or not school attendance is delayed or shut down.

“As far as I know it’s full speed ahead — but again, things could change tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t think anyone thought we’d see what we were looking at (Thursday) when we went to bed (Wednesday night).”

Clarkdale baseball coach and athletic director Scott Gibson said, like Sollie, the last couple of days have been an unreal experience.

“To be honest, it’s still kind of sinking in,” Gibson said. “We won’t be watching any SEC games this weekend. What are we going to do with all of our time?”

While officially the MHSAA spring sports seasons are still happening, Gibson said he wonders whether or not it’s inevitable that they get suspended in the next couple of weeks.

“The feeling with me and the coaches I’ve talked to is it’s kind of inevitable, where we’ll at least get shut down a small amount of time and go from there,” Gibson said. “As of right now we’ll operate as normal and keep moving forward.”

In the meantime, baseball practice is still on, and Gibson said he’s had discussions with his players about practical ways to keep germs and viruses from spreading.

“I told them to keep a check on their hygiene, wash their hands and avoid as much contact as possible, but don’t let it dictate your entire day,” Gibson explained.