When distance learning was enacted across South Florida schools around two months ago, seniors who were hoping to use their final season to get college scholarship offers didn’t get the chance to compete in front of scouts. Gulliver Prepatory athletic director, Ira Childress, recognized that other schools were also facing this issue and decided to put together a national Zoom call for athletic directors to come together and shape the future of high school sports.

Among the topics discussed so far during the weekly meeting includes finding ways to keep as much of a normal routine during social distancing since the rest of the spring season is cancelled, preparing for the 2020-2021 season, and giving advice to seniors on navigating their futures. Since the first call on March 18, more than 500 athletic directors have joined the sessions to help their students.

“I had no idea it was going to be this big when we started. It just continued to grow week after week,” Childress said. “A big part of it is, from an athletic standpoint, we’re just trying to utilize this to navigate this whole COVID-19 pandemic and do the best we can for our student-athletes.”