Ryan Gatch eyes a bright future for the Ponies, and for all of us

Summer has seen sports take the field again and the Havre community is glad to see it back in action. With that, there has been a lot more hope that the fall 2020 season will have the same result, with the Havre High football team getting back into action in Blue Pony Stadium this year, all the while, hopefully, avoiding another roadblock caused by COVID-19, an obstacle that led to the 2020 spring sports season going under.

The pandemic has held sports, business and social activity in its palm since it hit the state of Montana, leaving many people in a tough situation. At the end of the day, COVID-19 has had a big impact on people in different ways, but in Havre head coach Ryan Gatch's case, he had to channel his inner educator even further to help his own children with school, with such challenges providing new lessons.

"I've been working on my patience," Gatch said. "I've stayed home since March 13 with my 5-to-6-year-old and my 4-year-old, so I've been trying to be a more patient kindergarten teacher, preschool teacher and a better playground supervisor. What we learn, though, is that when the human mind puts their mind to doing something, we can get something there to accomplish. If everybody has the same team goal, you'll get the same outcomes. We wanted to make sure our community is self and healthy. I think only having one confirmed case in Hill County was very important."

Gatch continued by giving credit to the student body and faculty of Havre High in regard to the response to the pandemic.

"Our students and administrators have taken a very serious effort, as well," Gatch continued. "The Hill County Health Board taking a huge priority of making sure there is no spread of COVID-19, which could jeopardize the 2020 school year, is great. There could be nothing worse than starting out the 2020 school year with remote learning like we did at the end of 2019. The kids miss each other, the social interaction. And us, as teachers and coaches, we miss that interaction with our students, as well. It makes it really challenging this year as far as keeping everybody on course."

And that challenge has trickled down to the student-athletes, too. In the case of the Blue Pony football team, the players have been working out, practicing and preparing for the 2020 season on their own to adhere to the quarantine and social distancing guidelines put into place when the pandemic began. There is hope for team activities and practice here soon for the Ponies, but the team has not been able to meet even once in person since March 13.

It has been tough for both players and coaches all around. The lack of an in-person experience has put sports programs in a tough spot. But especially right now, there is a high anticipation to get back out on the practice field and be with the team. It is not easy to be separated from one's teammates for a long time, so to get back and put in the work together will be a big thing for the Ponies.

When it comes to how he sees the upcoming year for his students and team, Gatch knows exactly what the reunion will be like.

"I know everybody is excited to get back and get around to playing some football again," Gatch said. "That's the big thing, man. They miss that social interaction. We don't want to miss that chance for our students to finish off their high school career as seniors and have an actual end of high school. It will be interesting when we come back to 2020."

As for what the Blue Ponies have been able to do since COVID-19 came around, it has not been too much team-wise, but Gatch made it clear that individual commitment to staying in the game has been a consistent priority.

"We have not held any team activities since March 13," Gatch said. "We have had them strictly working out on their own and we got a lot of guys that are dedicated to going out and running routes, getting in their drills and things like that, which is an important factor that comes in there. As far as Havre High School goes, we've been strictly hands off with our students in the fact that it is very important to have them maintain a healthy level and not cause a swell here in Hill County."

June 1 came and that allowed facilities to open at Havre High, which meant that, with restrictions, the Blue Pony football team can get into the weight room. It's also the summer schedule, which means, in regards to the MHSA, team activities can also take place, though those will look much different in the COVID-19 world than they would in past summers.

Also, the 2020 fall season is still up in the air. There is uncertainty regarding the end of the pandemic and a possible second wave, and, those factors bring uncertainty to the fall high school sports season.

Regardless, who knows what will happen when the fall 2020 season approaches, but when asked, Gatch has high hopes that things will go smoothly throughout the season and hopefully after the pandemic, as well.

"That's a good question," Gatch said. "As for post-pandemic, hopefully everybody is a little bit cautious, especially during flu season and all that. Anytime that you're threatening people's lives with sickness and illness, we do take it serious. Even as educators we have a hard time staying away from school because of the fact that we miss the interaction and teaching those kids. We're not getting that same type of educational outcome or our goals that we want to meet day in and day out beforehand, so hopefully educators take the days off that are needed due to sickness and that way we can maintain a strong, healthy relationship within the school. Everything is going to look a little bit different, especially when you're associated with the school. It'll be real curious to see how our administrative team tackles these challenges going forward."

One thing's for certain, Gatch will help Havre High football take on the challenges and, hopefully, as a result of that they'll be playing in Blue pony Stadium this fall.