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Hiram Johnson Holds Football Practice Under New State Guidance For Youth Sports

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A day after the state rolled out its new guidance for youth sports, many high school teams are now putting the rules into play.

The football team at Hiram Johnson High School held practice Tuesday. Everyone was wearing a mask and staying six feet apart, which was perhaps the hardest part in a sport that prides itself on being high contact. But the players say the no competition rule may be the hardest knock of all.

It's not ideal, and it's far from a traditional workout, but the team is running a new kind of slant when it comes to practice.

"We don't even use a football or anything like that. You couldn't work out plays under the guidelines, it'd just be too close," head coach Alex Gomes-Coelho said. "So it's basically just conditioning."

On Monday, the state updated its guidance on youth sports, allowing teams in all counties, even those under a regional stay-at-home order, to hold outdoor practice and training as long as athletes stay six feet apart.

The rules are not exactly conducive with a high-contact sport like football, which also requires a lot of equipment that the Warriors have not been cleared to use.

"The only thing we'll have out there is the cones and we use those just for directional stuff. Everything is running, jumping, push-ups and non-equipment use right now," Gomes-Coelho said.

Under the state's color-coded tier system, each sport is ranked based on its level of contact and transmission risk.

READ MORE: California Releases New Guidelines For Youth Recreational Sports

"I'm just really happy and I know the rest of us are happy to be out here too again," senior Abrehim Carter said.

The new guidance also bans competitions until at least January 25, something seniors like Carter say is the toughest part.

"Since it's so late in the year, a lot of the colleges aren't looking as hard but hopefully we can get our season in and the colleges will start coming back to us," he said.

Pigskin and protocols collide for a changing playbook and a football season on the verge of being sacked.

The new guidance will be reviewed by the Department of Public Health on January 4.

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