Gann, Homewood High navigating the unknown

The final day of the 2020 spring sports competition at Homewood High School was a special one.

In honor of the late Aniah Blanchard, the 19-year-old Homewood High School graduate whose body was found in rural Macon County in November, the Lady Patriots softball program held an event dubbed “Baby Blue for #22” on March 14.

Blanchard played softball for Homewood during her high school career and donned jersey No. 22. On that March day, the Lady Patriots faced off against Briarwood and Mountain Brook. Homewood beat Briarwood 17-1 and fell to Mountain Brook 12-11.

“It was a beautiful day,” Homewood Athletic Director Doug Gann said of the event honoring Blanchard’s life.

Those would be the last games played by Homewood teams before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled in-person school and extracurricular activities for the remainder of the school year.

“Whatever teams did during the week [leading up to that day], that was it for them,” Gann said.

At the time, schools were simply slated to be closed for a few weeks. But on March 26, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and state Superintendent Eric Mackey announced schools would remain closed the remainder of the spring, including the cancellation of all spring sports.

“It was very sad,” Gann said. “We had a lot of spring sports that were doing very well. ... When it became official, it kind of sunk in all the more.”

Gann has since spoken to each of the spring coaches at the school as they attempt to navigate this uncertain time. He served as Homewood’s baseball coach prior to becoming the athletic director and empathizes with their situation of not being able to provide their teams with closure.

“It’s obviously unchartered territory for all of us,” Gann said.

However, Gann has been sure not to be overbearing in his communication with coaches and athletic administrators at the school, because “I don’t have a whole lot to tell them because I don’t know anything.”

No one knows when a sense of normalcy will return to society, much less schools across the country.

“The thing that’s just hard is that if there was an end date, everybody says, ‘great.’ But who knows how long it could be. The unknown is what has people on edge,” Gann said.

While there hasn’t been much to do during the time away from work, Gann said he has been “trying to exercise and trying not to eat too much,” although joking the latter has been a struggle.

“I’m also just listening for any positive news,” he said. “Hopefully there’s a glimmer of hope coming in the near future.”

In fall sports — such as football, volleyball and cross-country —coaches are facing the difficult task of attempting to plan for a season that may not start on time, or perhaps not happen at all.

“Everybody’s in the same boat; nobody’s getting a leg up on anybody right now,” Gann said. “It’s going to be tough to have a normal season if this summer stuff gets pushed back any later.”

Gann called this period of time an “eye-opening experience for everybody.” He, like many others, is accustomed to the spring being a time of controlled chaos, as he constantly goes from one athletic competition to the next.

That will make the return of athletics, and many other activities, all the more special.

“I do think everybody’s perspective should change, I hope for the better,” he said. “When things start happening again, you’ll probably see people either attending or watching more than ever.”