Hello RHS Athletes and Families of Athletes:
I am excited to let you know that SPS and the metro league
are planning on high school athletics beginning on February 22nd.
Please understand that this is a fluid situation and could change depending on
the COVID numbers in our region increasing. Despite a strong desire to help our
students reengage in school activities, the decision to return to athletics for
SPS is complicated, as you can likely imagine. We all need to understand
that our upcoming athletic season will not look like any sports season we have
ever seen before. We all need to remain patient and flexible with each other,
as we move forward with athletics. Please understand our first goal as an
athletic department is to ensure the safety of our players, parents, coaches
and community. I completely understand the importance of athletics and the
fantastic impact playing sports can have on our student athletes during this difficult
time. I know that our community is eager to return to play. However, we need to
all understand that anyone’s decision to participate or not participate as an
athlete or coach is their decision alone and it depends on how comfortable they
are feeling during this COVID world pandemic. We all must be accepting of
players and coaches decision to return or not return and we all have a
responsibility to be as accommodating and supportive as possible during this
very difficult time.
Each player and coach will have their temperature taken and
symptoms checked before every practice and game. All players and coaches will
be required to wear a mask during all practices and game competitions. Locker
rooms will not be accessible and athletes will need to come suited up in their
athletic gear and bring their own water bottle to every practice and game. We
are working diligently as a league to provide security and transportation for
our student athletes but again this is a fluid situation and there are a ton of
moving parts and factors that go into these types of decisions. Unfortunately
if and when we do return to competition, there will be no fans allowed at
games at this time. We are hopeful as a league that if our regional numbers
continue to decrease, that we will be able to create a plan where we could have
some fans in the stands at some point. This was not an easy decision, but will
help to ensure the safety of our players, coaches and parents. I have
attached an updated memo from the SPS athletic department along with some
frequently asked questions to help provide our community more understanding and
clarification on what the upcoming sports seasons are going to look like.
Please be on the lookout for specific tryout and practice information
from your coaches over the next week. We will also make sure that the same
information is posted on our school website. Thank you all for being
patient and understanding during this difficult time and let’s all do our part
to help our student athletes return to play. I appreciate our Roosevelt
community and I am extremely excited to see our student athletes competing once
again. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Coach Sherlock