FLOWERY BRANCH — Flowery Branch football coach Ben Hall is getting creative during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Classes across the state have been canceled since March and as May approaches, spring football practice was supposed to kick off for all but four area programs next month. That also is a no-go.
Most coaches have resorted to Zoom meetings to stay in touch with players and coaches. Some coaches are even instructing position groups over live Zoom calls.
Hall said he's using the old fashioned way to stay in touch with his players these days.
"We're not having team-wide zoom meetings," he said. "I try to talk to our kids once a week over the phone and just reach out."
But it's not all old fashioned, Hall also is taking advantage of the technology provided by Hall County with the Canvas Learning System.
It's a platform Hall and his coaches are using to upload instructional videos that players can go watch on their own time.
"Hall County is ahead of the game with our Canvas program," he said. "We've created a Canvas page for our football program, so we're able to upload a lot of information -- not only offense, defense and special teams stuff but all of the headache stuff you have to get in place before we start."
Hall's taking it one step further as well, holding a virtual spring practice on May 3, capped by a Madden Live spring video game.
"We're going to have a virtual spring practice (over Canvas)," he said. "We'll do voice over zoom meetings and upload them so they can watch on their own time. I think by us recording and uploading to Canvas and allow kids to watch it on their own time, will be more efficient.
"We can tell if they watch it on their own time, and if we can get every kid to watch, we'll be ahead of the game. I joke with some of the coaches here in the county to figure out how to practice football over Canvas. We're getting as close to that as we can."
As for the spring game ... "We're going to create our own teams and play it on Madden Live."
