By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
Off-season workouts for fall sports will return for Yukon athletes on June 8, after Superintendent Jason Simeroth discussed a two-phase plan with the Yukon School Board Monday night.
Off-season football players will report on Monday to begin small group workouts outside. Volleyball, softball and cross country teams will also be able to participate in off-season workouts. Tryouts for volleyball are expected to be held in July.
“One thing we are releasing in coordination with our athletic programs today is our re-entry program, our back to school type of trial run,” Simeroth said. “We are going to start off small and slow and make sure we do it the right way.
“So this week our coaches and trainers for high school fall sports only will come back for some professional development, talk about how to do the masks and social distancing even within the small groups,” he said. “They will have athletes coming back next week and we will do some outdoor stuff and they may get to go out on the new field which is finished and will start on the track. They will work 14 straight days on that and have that knocked out as well.”
The program will be a two-part phase-in program that will allow athletes to start working on weights the second week and continue on through the end of June. There will be a phase three of the restart, but Simeroth said that will be discussed after an evaluation of phase one and phase two.
“We are going to be very cautious and move slowly,” Simeroth said. “On the 15th, we will be able to hold cheerleader tryouts, they have a very, very clear path in making sure people are separated. They will have a little bit of practice then have people try out and then camp and other stuff as that comes into line.
“Other than that, we are not having any other community things in our facilities,” he said.
“We are being very cautious in how we handle this re entry program.”
In a release, the school system wrote that Yukon Public Schools in conjunction with state and federal agency guidelines, has determined to safely begin the process of resuming certain activities with restrictions. The following are tentative dates contingent upon the availability of safety supplies and the continual monitoring of the transition. Our priority is limiting risk while we transition slowly within the confines of the following timeline:
In the phase 1, which will be June 8-12, athletes must bring their own water from home with name clearly visible. Athletes must have physical on file from last year.
Parking lots will be monitored closely by coaches before and after practice.
Temperature check upon arrival, any individual registering 100.4 or above will not be permitted to stay.
Athletes must fill out a daily screening questionnaire before entering practice.
Only outdoor small group workouts with 10-feet of social distancing between groups
There will be a 60-minute time limit per group for outdoor small group workouts.
No locker rooms will be available, but one open restroom, coaches’ offices and restrooms, which will be cleaned daily.
Proper equipment cleaning before and after each group.
Athlete and coach participation is voluntary and not required by Yukon Public Schools.
Phase two will begin June 15 through June 26 and again will be for fall sports athletes only.
Athletes must bring their own water from home with name clearly visible.
Athletes must have physical on file from last year.
Parking lots will be monitored closely by coaches before and after practice.
Temperature checked upon arrival, any individual registering 100.4 or above will not be permitted to stay.
Athletes must fill out a daily screening questionnaire before entering practice.
Indoor weight room workouts allowed.
Athletes must bring a face covering to be worn.
No shared helmets or equipment will be worn.
No locker rooms open but one open restroom, coaches’ offices and restrooms will be cleaned daily.
Proper equipment cleaning before and after each group.
Athlete and coach participation is voluntary and not required by Yukon Public Schools.
There will be no camps, leagues, or other community events of any kind in Yukon Public Schools facilities until July 1. The date is subject to change as well. Information regarding phase three will be addressed at a later date.
