Williamsport Football Pushes Forward After School Shutdown Forces Online Learning

With asbestos remediation locking the building for months, the Wildcats are replacing all their gear and finding creative ways to keep their season on track

Williamsport High School students will start the year with online learning while the building undergoes asbestos remediation, but fall sports -- including football -- will move ahead as scheduled with some modifications. / Sheldon Shealer

WILLIAMSPORT, Md. — Instead of lining fields, preparing to issue gear and finalizing practice plans, Williamsport High School football coach Tim Small has been scrambling to secure facilities, replace equipment, arrange transportation for his players, and keep them committed to the program.

Asbestos Closure Forces Creative Solutions at Williamsport

Washington County Public Schools announced late last week that Williamsport High School will start the upcoming school year with online learning while asbestos remediation is underway in the building. As a result, the entire facility — and everything inside it — is on lockdown. 

As it stands, Williamsport students will be online for at least the first two semesters of the school year, which covers the entire fall sports season. However, while the school building is off limits, the outdoor facilities are not. Small said the team will be able to practice on site and still host home games with additional portable facilities brought in to compensate for the lack of locker room access.

“The show will go on as scheduled,” Small confidently said. 

Practice Schedules and Routines Will Be Altered

The team will hold its first practice on Wednesday, the earliest day MPSSAA schools are permitted to begin.

“I’m ready for Wednesday,” Small said. “We need the normalcy of football, for sure.”

A normal first-day of practice for Williamsport includes a morning workout session followed by lunch and indoor film sessions before returning to the field for afternoon practice. Instead, Williamsport will hold an evening practice.

In addition, the team has secured an off-campus weight room and currently is working on a venue for film review. 

Replacing Everything — From Helmets to Shoelaces

Since the program’s equipment is part of the lockdown, the school ordered an entire new set of equipment — from helmets, jerseys and shoulder pads down to knee pads and shoestrings.

“It’s been a full-time job, working with central office to create equipment and bid lists,” Small said. “We had to go through everything we do, consider everything we need. It was like completely starting over.”

The entrance to Williamsport's football stadium appears normal, but the Wildcats will have their preseason routine disrupted by the closure of the school during an asbestos remediation project. / Sheldon Shealer

Small, in his 11th season as Williamsport’s head coach, said the school system “moved quickly to pull together the resources.”

He added that the school works with three vendors who have responded quickly to the challenge of re-outfitting the team, including a set of temporary jerseys for the fall.

“We’ll look like Williamsport (color) as much as we can,” Small said.

As replacement equipment arrived, Small has been storing it in the garage of his house.

“Ball bags, cones, coolers, everything is in the garage,” he said. “My wife is looking at me cross-eyed why she can’t park in the garage.”

Keeping the Players Committed

The start of the 2025 season has 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic vibes, he said, but this is much different. There was uncertainty during the 2020 fall season and after two games, the county decided to cancel the rest of season. “That was the hardest day of my coaching life,” he said. “Looking at those kids, especially the seniors, and telling them it’s over. … This, we know we have a season, it’s just going to be a little different. We just need to stay positive.”

One of the first challenges Small faced was families considering transferring their student-athletes to another school to avoid online learning and keep them in a more routine environment. 

The next player-based challenge, which he is still dealing with, is daily transportation. 

“Usually, the school day ends and they go straight from the school to practice,” he said. “Now, they’ll be at home when the school day ends. We have to figure out how to get them to the school since they all might not have a way to get here at that time.”

Veteran Roster Eases Disruption

Williamsport opens the season Sept. 5 at Brunswick. The team’s first scheduled home game is Sept. 12 against county rival Smithsburg.

Fortunately for Small, he has a veteran team — eight returning starters on each side of the ball. Therefore, he’s hoping that existing knowledge of the system will offset any lost practice time. 

“We had a little time this summer for base install of our offense and defense,” he said. “But our normal in-season routine … well, it’s going to be goofy, crazy, I can’t put it into words.”

Small said he’s trying to maintain as much of the usual routine as possible, emphasizing it’s not always the games but rather the experience the players remember. 

“Team dinners on Thursday, we still want to do things like that, that’s a piece of our football program,” he said. “I know we need to maintain the experience. In two months, I want to look back and say we keep the train on the track.”