Thank you for your commitment and patience during this trying time. It has, and continues to be, frustrating for all of us not being able to provide athletic opportunities for our students. Our first step in the return-to-practice process has gone well: attendance has been steady, pre-screenings have gone smoothly, and we have had zero cases during this time.  We must continue to be diligent with COVID cases still occurring, but the efforts of our coaching staff have helped demonstrate that we can provide these opportunities safely to students with appropriate modifications.

The FCPS athletic directors have been continuously discussing practice and competition plans as we received information from the VHSL on season rescheduling and from FCPS on school models. With those details now set, we have agreed to implement a “dead period” from August 17 through September 7 to allow our teachers and staff the additional time they will desperately need to plan for hybrid and virtual instruction, attend necessary planning meetings at the school and district levels, etc. Our students should be given their first week of school to settle into their new routine which will have many changes. Our custodial staff will need additional time for cleaning and sanitization requirements which will be a year-long issue.  Space will be an issue as all teams desire workout times.  Additionally, FCPS did approve a new strength training and conditioning stipend, and Coach Hartman will be leading that program assisted by our athletic trainer, Jess Kotelnicki.  With all of this in mind, here is the plan for off-season conditioning programs for the near future:

• Dead period August 17-September 7 (MHS/SHS going August 7-September 8)
• Fall off-season program to run September 8-October 30
• Program to run from 2:45 to 5:00 PM daily to include pre-screenings and sanitizing
• Each team will be assigned two days per week, one A day and one B day
• Athletes on the hybrid instruction model may only participate on the days they are physically in school school (A or B)
• As of 8/12, students choosing the all-virtual model ARE able to participate. Those students are still assigned as A or B day, and may only attend workouts on that assigned day
• No workouts on Wednesdays or Saturdays (students not in school)
• Attendance and health checklist forms, including temperature checks, must continue to be maintained for contact tracing purposes should any cases arise
• Workouts will be split into half general strength and conditioning with Coach Hartman, and half may be used for your sport-specific training. 50 minutes for each portion with a 10-minute break.
• The VHSL announced entrance into Phase III of the return-to-play plan on July 31. There are important changes that you should review on the FCPS Return to Play document, but most important are the elimination of pods and the ability to use sports equipment with multiple players (i.e. balls, bats, etc.). Distancing protocols are still in place. 
• Sanitizing MUST occur between rotations, between groups, and at end of each workout. Shared equipment (i.e. balls, bats, etc.) should be sanitized as well.
• Coaches may offer additional sport-specific training virtually (videos, Google Classroom, Google Meet, etc.)
• Coaches should encourage non-school based opportunities (travel, camps, clubs, etc.)
• Masks should be worn when possible, understanding that some activities may require athletes to remove them (running, certain drills, etc.). 

Workout days and times are as follows:

• Monday/Friday
  • Group A (strength then sport-specific): boys’ basketball, swimming, boys’ soccer, field events, boys’ tennis
  • Group B (sport-specific then strength): girls’ basketball, girls’ soccer, track events, wrestling
• Tuesday/Thursday
  • Group A (strength then sport-specific): football, girls’ tennis, baseball, wrestling, golf
  • Group B (sport-specific then strength): volleyball, cheer, softball, cross country