NMAA prepares timetable for summer activity
Board may set June 15 as date for start of workouts
Summer’s on — hopefully.
The New Mexico Activities Association will unveil Thursday morning its plan for summer activities for member schools’ athletic programs to its board of directors, with a target date of June 15 for teams to start workouts.
And just like with everything else in this COVID-19 world, schools will have to adhere to social-distancing measures, limits on the number of athletes who can participate per session, sanitization protocols and other procedures to help ensure the safety of coaches and participants.
Dusty Young, the NMAA associate director for media relations, cautioned that the proposal could be amended or voted down by the board, but it met with guidelines suggested by the National Federation of State High School Associations and was approved by the Governor’s Office. Also, each school and district can determine when its teams can start activity beginning June 15, according to the plan the NMAA released in preparation for the meeting.
The plan gives insight into what high school sports could look like. It will come in three phases, with each phase designed to follow the state’s phasing criteria. The initial phase allows for:
◆ Groups (called pods in the plan) of five athletes and one coach, with indoor sports (basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading) limited to three pods and outdoor sports (football, baseball, track and field, soccer and cross-country) to five. Only swimming is not allowed to start since all pools are closed.
◆ Pods must be at least 6 feet apart.
◆ Weight rooms and locker rooms will be off-limits.
◆ There will be no games or scrimmages, and workouts will be limited to individual skill development with no contact with others.
◆ In sports involving balls, each player will use their own ball with no sharing with players or coaches. The same goes for towels and water bottles.
The plan calls for sanitization of equipment and facilities, as well as hand sanitizer for coaches and athletes. It also sets up guidelines for pre-screening coaches and athletes, including temperature checks and answering screening questions.
Santa Fe High head football coach Andrew Martinez, who said he was inundated with questions about summer workouts from players and coaches, was happy to finally have an answer.
“It’s going to be nice to get out there with the guys,” Martinez said. “For coaches, for players, I am just really happy about that.”
The potential plan offers some challenges. Perhaps the biggest is how to monitor balls for each individual. Martinez indicated he might mark players’ initials on each ball. Max Vargas, Capital’s head volleyball coach, said he will have to find drills that work with only one ball. It’s a far cry from using a cart to hammer volleys at players.
“Everybody will fall in line, and everybody will get used to it,” Vargas said. “We know we have limitations, but we will work as fast as we can. If we have to run a lot, we’ll run a lot. If we use one ball, we’ll use one ball a lot.”
Larry Chavez, Santa Fe Public School’s assistant superintendent for athletics/activities and school support, said the administration has been preparing for the start of summer activity and anticipates the school district will be ready for any date.
“I think we are in good position, and were always preparing for a sooner start date for the kids,” Chavez said. “If June 15 is the start date for practices, we will be able to prepare facilities in a safe manner as soon as June 15.”
I think we are in good position, and were always preparing for a sooner start date for the kids.”
Larry Chavez, Santa Fe Public School’s assistant superintendent for athletics/activities and school support