Update

 

The fall season came to an end this week when our girls soccer team lost to Hingham in a shootout.  Anna Sullivan scored both of the Panthers goals but ultimately Hingham won the penalty kick round 3 to 2.  It was an outstanding effort by both teams and we couldn’t have been more proud of our girls who never gave up despite trailing in the final seconds of the game before Anna tied it up.

 

While on the topic of girls soccer, I would like to congratulate assistant girls soccer coach Tom Zamagni who announced his retirement after more than 26 years serving our students.  Coach Z has been an influential mentor for hundreds of girls over the years and his passion and expertise will be missed.  We want to thank him for all he has done and we wish him the best as he now gets to spend more time with his family and his cherished role of grandfather.

 

As far as winter sports is concerned, we did clear some hurdles this week as the process to open the door for some sports was finally completed.  It was a long road which ended on Friday at the MIAA board of directors.  In the end, the board moved wrestling to the spring and indoor track to “Fall 2” while keeping basketball, hockey, swimming and gymnastics in the winter to start on 12/14 with practices.  Cheerleading will not be held this winter and we are still securing details of when and how that season will be held sometime later this school year.  Each sport that will be allowed to be played will have specific modifications to ensure the highest level of safety.  You can read about those modifications by visiting our website www.whathletics.com and click on the modifications tab.   There is still a lot of work to be done on implementation of these modifications and the Patriot League Athletic Directors will be meeting tomorrow to work the details.  We will keep everyone updated we work out the details.

 

Parents of winter sport athletes should make sure their child has an up to date physical (this includes a flu shot) on file with the school nurse, a concussion test and a permission slip (both the concussion test and the permission slip can be found at www.whathletics.com ).  We will be holding a virtual parent night sometime after Thanksgiving.  This will include information about how parents might be able to attend events, tryout info and other important information.  Coaches will be breaking off for individual sport meetings as part of this event.  We will be emailing everyone who has signed up for a winter sport with the log in information.

 

Finally, a few weeks ago I emailed students regarding our dilemma with swimming this winter.  Our Co-op partner Middleboro notified us at the end of the year that they were opening their swim team to middle school students. The MIAA does not allow schools to have both the middle school and co op waivers. Therefore our co op is no longer in effect.  It was my plan to partner with a different school or go out on our own.  We had made some great progress on this plan but then covid hit and everything was halted.  Pools are scarce and team sizes and school mixing is not recommended.  Therefore, we will have to take a one year hiatus with swimming.  We will do everything in our power to bring it back next school year.  The good news though is that by MIAA rule, anyone who was on the team last year may finish their career with Middleboro who is graciously allowing our students to still participate. 

 

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving.