GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) – A competitive youth football league is up and running heading into the fall, with new COVID-19 precautions hoping to keep kids safe.

They feel it’s important to get the kids back into sports because it’s not just about football, but the fellowship as well.

The kids get physicals from their doctors, temp checks before each practice and they are doing their best to social distance during practice. The coach says they are taking it day by day in this new normal.

“It’s one of those things that we are going to have to take a day at a time. We don’t want to rush and do things that are unsafe. We want to make sure we keep everything healthy, but at the same time we don’t want to take these kids back from that social that social experience of youth sports,” the organizer says.

Travocaus Miller, SC Youth Football Association says, “We had our doubts going in because of COVID, but it came together so the parents were really excited about getting back out here. They wanted to give their kids a chance to be social, be active and still disciplined. So we are all excited.”

Changes had to be made for how the upstate titans operate so that these kids could hit the field with their competitive football league members with their cheerleaders as well.

“We are family and our family gets a chance to be together again,” says Miller.

Parents says the temp checks make them feel good about their kids playing and cheering again – after some long months in isolation.

Jimmy Ballarano, a parent, says, “they need to be out there exercising, doing what we do best. Playing football with the Upstate Titans.”

Shadaco Pearson, another parent, interjects that “Football is life.”

Ballarano continues saying, “it’s good to have the kids back out here. They can’t be cooped up in the house they are doing all the safety precautions. It’s time to play some football. We are about that action.”

Because they travel to play competitively, the coaches with South Carolina Youth Football Association are hoping that every league is taking those same precautions and putting safety first.

Miller says, “We play competitively, and we compete at a high-level across the state across the nation, but at the same time we are hoping that everybody else are doing the same for cautions. Taking the same steps, doing the same waiver checks and everything. We do our checks and balances and I encourage everybody to do their‘s. We want to have fun… we want the kids to have fun but we have to be safe”

They have a nurse that they call on for help if any medical expertise is needed.

Miller says in this organization they, “preach brotherhood. We want these kids to have a brotherhood that to build friends some of them go to school together some of them don’t so this is the only time that they get to see each other and spend time together”.

He says, “we want… safety first. These kids are playing youth football, we want to make sure I try to make sure I try to treat them all like they are mine. If mine are going to be playing I want to make sure they are playing in the safest environment possible so we are trying our best. We know that football is a contact sport so that is the best thing that we can do to make sure that we are being per cautious and doing the right thing.”

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