Salem-Keizer campuses set to open for athletes' summer workouts

After more than three months of being sidelined during the coronavirus pandemic, Salem-Keizer Public Schools will open campuses this week for athletes to do voluntary summer workouts.

The district developed a list of safety protocols to allow limited outdoor-only workouts for high school athletes, with a heavy emphasis on social distancing and sanitation.

“We’re going to roll out only outdoors to start with,” West Salem athletic director Bill Wittman said. “Even if you’re a volleyball or basketball team, we’re not opening up the inside facilities yet. But we do want to move forward with the outdoor, so the volleyball team can still work outdoors.”

All athletes, their guardians and coaches must sign liability/disclaimer documents before using campus facilities.

Training for coaches

Coaches are required to get trained on the protocols before their teams can take the field for workouts. Training started Thursday, and additional training sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday through Friday this week.

Some coaches will be designated as site social distancing monitors, who will make sure athletes are keeping a distance of at least 6 feet from each other at workouts.

“I don’t think it’s going to be hard to get the kids to do anything they can to make sure we get to stay open,” Sprague football coach Jay Minyard said. “If we aren’t following protocols, then I think the district would be pretty quick to shut us down.”

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Although it’s not mandatory, athletes are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask when they arrive at the school facilities, and continue wearing it when not participating in a specific drill. Coaches are required to wear face masks.

“I know for a lot of guys, including myself, we really want to be able to play football this year and finish out our senior year,” West Salem senior quarterback Jackson Lowery said. “So at least for me, I know that any work we can do with all the guys again, and just get back in that environment, is crucial to going forward and what’s going to happen with the season.”

Facilities limited to athletes, coaches

Only Salem-Keizer athletes and coaches are allowed to use the facilities. No parents, siblings or spectators will be allowed at the workouts.

The outdoor space will be limited to 100 individuals, and among that, they will divide up into smaller pods of five to 10 athletes.

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Coaches will conduct health screenings of the athletes at the entrance of the fields, and after the screening, the athletes will use hand-sanitizer entering the facilities. Also, athletes must not share clothing or water bottles.

“They put a lot of work and effort into this, and I think they did a good job,” Minyard said. “It’s about as thorough as you can possibly get in the situation that we’re in.”

For now, only outdoor facilities can be used, with the earliest possible date for use of indoor facilities set for July 20.

Official practices set to start Aug. 17

“Our plan is not to start until (July 13), just so that we can get ready, because in order to do things outside, we have to round up outdoor nets and figure that whole thing out,” Sprague volleyball coach Anne Olsen said. “Part of me is frustrated because I just want to be in the gym. But at the same time, I’m completely understanding that if we have to follow these protocols in order to get us into the gym, then we’ll do whatever we need to do.”

During the workouts, the equipment will need to be cleaned and disinfected at least every 10 minutes. After the workouts, athletes are required to leave the field and campus immediately, and then coaches must clean and disinfect all spaces and equipment.

The first official practice of the OSAA fall season is set for Aug. 17, and the start of official contests is set for Sept. 3.

“This is a good chance to get ahead of the game,” Lowery said. “It’s really important for a lot of guys to come together and start doing some stuff before football starts.”

Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ