High schools cleared for summer conditioning

High school fall-sport athletes in Santa Cruz County and their respective coaches, following a laundry list of safety guidelines, will be able to convene for summer conditioning beginning Monday.

Though the fate of their respective sports comes July 20, when the California Interscholastic Federation reveals the future of sports for the 2020-21 academic school year, Monday will be a breath of fresh air for the athletes, who along with the rest of California, were ordered to shelter in place on March 19 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working in groups no larger than 12 student for a time not to exceed 90 minutes Monday through Friday, athletes are banned from using indoor facilities, including weight rooms, using a shared ball or taking part in contact drills.

That leaves plenty of time for socially distanced sprinting, pushups and sit-ups. It may not sound like much, especially with the CIF’s decision two weeks away, but it’s better than nothing, said Stu Walters, Soquel High’s athletic director.

“At least it’s something,” Walters said. “They need it. More than anything, they need the social aspect of it.”

The decision to allow athletes to condition was announced June 26 by superintendents from the county’s four school districts (Santa Cruz City Schools, San Lorenzo Valley Unified, Scotts Valley Unified, and Pajaro Valley Unified). Their decision was collaborative effort with the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency and CIF.

Athletes must complete a waiver prior to beginning workouts and their masked coaches must provide a health screening plan and sanitation protocol before conditioning sessions begin. Health and temperature checks will be completed by any trained district staff member, on an individual basis, to protect confidentiality.

Erik Redding, athletic director at Santa Cruz, said the Cardinals are waiting for thermometers and cleaning supplies.

“We’ll start next week,” he said. “I’m not saying we’ll start Monday.”

County athletic directors were unsure Thursday if conditioning would take place after a Sacramento news station reported that the state reversed its standing from early June and banned athletic gatherings of any sort.

But local athletic directors received word from the Central Coast Section that they should follow the orders of their county health department.

“So it’s status quo,” Redding said. “We’re going to proceed until someone tells us to stop.”

Shortly after shelter-in-place orders were given, many coaches began conducting video conferences with athletes to stay in touch and lay out plans to stay in shape.

“Hopefully, they’ve been doing stuff on their own,” Walters said. “We’re going to find out what kind of shape they’re in. Some of the kids have weights at home. Others don’t. The gap may be getting wider.”

Golfers have been able to practice since county courses reopened May 4 and cross country athletes have been able to train on their own all the while. Now, runners will gain access to the track but they must run in single lanes while social distancing from teammates.

Athletes competing in girls tennis, girls volleyball and boys and girls water polo are still awaiting official word on when they can begin training with the use of a ball. Water polo players will have access to their school’s pool but they must be separated by lanes.

“Our kids have been working out on their own off campus,” said Louie Walters, Scotts Valley’s athletics director. “We have our kids in place doing stuff.”