When it comes to scheduling safe, organized athletic conditioning sessions for her high school student athletes, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Athletic Director Ashley Coelho and her staff are on top of it.
Santa Ynez fall sports varsity student athletes were given approval by the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District to return to campus on Monday for conditioning workouts with their coaches.
“We started yesterday as Day 1, and the students and coaches all looked so happy being here on campus,” Coelho told Noozhawk.
The campus has been closed since mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Santa Ynez’s plan, only varsity fall teams are on campus for conditioning workouts. Those include football, boys and girls water polo, boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country and sideline cheer.
After two weeks, JV and frosh fall sports teams will begin their conditioning sessions.
Varsity winter and spring sports teams will start on Oct. 12 and JV/Frosh on Oct. 26.
Coelho’s organization plan for the workouts is tight.
The expectations and protocols are clearly explained in a 24-slide power-point presentation.
From where the student athletes park their cars and where they enter and exit the practice facility to designated bathrooms, masks, social distancing and personal responsibility, Coelho has got it covered and more.
“Each team has their own parking area, own entrance, own exit, own restrooms, etcetera,” she said. “Masks must be worn to and from practice. They must bring their own water. All athletes and coaches must fill out a symptom checker online by 12 p.m. to be eligible for practice.”
There’s a page on athletic clearance. Student athletes will not be allowed to participate until they have submitted eight (nine for football) signed documents, among them sports physicals, COVID-19 sports waivers, and code of conduct for parents/guardians.
The email addresses of every varsity coach are listed.
Safety protocols from the CIF and the Centers for Disease Control are included in the presentation.
There’s instructions on what to do if a student feels ill at practice, and if a student, teacher or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 and had exposed others at school.
Each team’s practice time is listed on a spread sheet.
On Monday, varsity football went from 2 to 5 p.m. at the stadium, and track and boys volleyball took over from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The cheer squad went from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Pirate Plaza.
Boys and girls volleyball and water polo work out on separate days.
On the first day, Coelho said the “athletes looked like they enjoyed being here, and they all looked happy and eager to be back.”
As for her coaching staff, “The coaches were were excited to get sports going again, and they were excited to see the kids on campus again,” said Coelho.
The Santa Ynez AD caps the informative power point presentation with a graphic titled, “Personal Responsibility.”
It simply explains that the success of the conditioning workouts falls on the students athletes
“When you’re not at practice:
—Practice Social Distancing.
—Wash Hands.
—Wear a Mask.
“Don’t jeopardize your teammates and the opportunities to continue practicing. Minimize the risk.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.