School provides alternative sports opportunities

POMEROY–The Pomeroy School District began a “Summer Session” on Sept. 28, 2020, as an alternative athletics program due to the changes in sports for the 2020-2021 school year mandated by the WIAA during the pandemic. The session will be a non-competitive program focusing on skills and drills for each sport, and will be for the month of October only. It will be offered to 7th–12th graders, and run by volunteer coaches.

Because so many different sports will be offered in the session, practices will vary as to which are offered each day. That will allow students who participate in multiple sports the opportunity to participate in each one offered. Attendance at any of the practice sessions is voluntary on the part of the athletes, and will occur after school.

Safety protocols have been designed to meet COVID-19 guidelines set forth by the WIAA, Department of Health, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), local Health District, and the School District’s insurance provider. Athletes are to be kept in practice pods of five to ten, who stay together for all drills each day. Contact drills will be allowed within the pods for a duration of 15 minutes or less. Balls are only allowed to be shared within each pod. Social distancing and masks will be required for coaches at all times, and for athletes when not actively participating. Any athlete answering “yes” to questions on a monitoring form will be sent home immediately.

The school district plans to begin a fitness and strength training program starting November 1, 2020. The WIAA has restricted coaches from working with athletes on sport specific skills from November 1–December 28, 2020, which is the beginning of Season 1 of the modified sports schedule for the 2020–21 school year set by the WIAA.

Basketball for boys and girls will start off Season 1. However, basketball competitions are prohibited for any school that has not advanced to Phase 4 of the Governor’s Safe Start Plan. Most of the schools with which Pomeroy would compete are currently in Phase 2. And some schools, such as Dayton, will not have any competitive sports for the school year. Spring sports may have a better opportunity for competitions, which can occur in Phase 3.

Current sports physicals, completion of online athletic registration forms, and ASB membership cards are required before athletes will be allowed to participate in the Summer Session practices.