Yuma High School is beginning to make plans to at least get student-athletes in the weight room in the near future, but nothing is set in stone yet.
In an email sent to Colorado High School Activities Association member schools last week, Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green informed the membership that on June 1 the moratorium against in-person conditioning sessions between coaches and high school participants will be lifted.
Starting on that day, any decisions regarding athletics and activities through the summer months will be made at the local school district level. The CHSAA’s administrative oversight for athletics and activities will resume when camps, clinics and fall sports practice dates are projected to begin, she noted.
“This isn’t recreational park play or a free-for-all,” CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green told CHSAANow.com. “Our schools will face some challenges, no different than professional and collegiate sports to resume any level of student participation.”
“Each district’s individual date of return has been fully supported by our office,” Blanford-Green continued. “Our school administrators have assessed their local situations and have made the best decisions based on the safety and well-being of their students and school personnel.”
YHS activities director Michael Dischner said Tuesday afternoon he met with head coaches earlier that day to begin getting plans in place.
“But we still can’t do anything,” he said.
That will depend on state and local leaders’ decisions on the gradual re-opening of society. It appears all of it is heading toward limited, in-person gatherings.
Dischner said Tuesday’s discussion centered on having groups of 10 or less. The early plan is to possibly have two coaches, each with eight student/athletes at a time, and have several time slots throughout the day. The idea is to have lifting two days per week, and do agility drills the other two days.
As of now, there definitely cannot be any team activities, Dischner said.
He said he and coaches talked about how after such a long layoff, it was best to at least get the youngsters moving again in the weight room, and hopefully transition into their sports later in the summer.
It the plans do become a reality, it will require that each participant have their temperature checked at the door, and asked a list of health questions before entering.
Equipment will have to be sanitized between each lift, and there will need to be a break between each session for more sanitizing.
I last week’s email to schools, Blanford-Green provided schools with suggested recommendations, referencing national, state and health guidelines to assist them with resuming activities and athletics while keeping safety standards and protocols a priority.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Blanford-Green said. “As with [the] reopening our country and our state, taking incremental steps within the mandated and suggested guidelines will be critical in ensuring the success of transitioning from virtual to in-person.
“I have strongly recommended that each school or district have a comprehensive plan in place during this transition, and that their school communities including participants, parents and especially coaches are informed of the expectations prior to physical contact or conducting in-person sessions,” she added.
“Our students, coaches, schools and the Association are ready to re-socialize back to participation,” Blanford-Green said. “The importance of returning to education-based athletics and activities reaches beyond a contest or a perceived scholarship. It is about reconnecting our students — socially, emotionally and physically.”
The CHSAA Resocialization Task Force will meet after June 1 to begin discussions on athletics and activities for high school participation for the 2020-21 school year.
