Dear City SC Members,
We hope this update finds everyone staying safe and in good health. First and foremost, we’d like to express our thanks to all of our coaches, players, parents and staff for keeping our City SC spirits high in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic as we navigate through these uncharted waters. Over the course of the past month we have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the creative ways our teams have been staying connected and staying active within the restrictions of the stay home orders.
As the State of California, San Diego County and the City of Carlsbad prepare to roll out a phased reopening plan over the course of the coming weeks and months, behind the scenes at City SC we are collecting as much information as we possibly can to put together our own multi-staged plan for returning to the field.
At this point we are waiting on indicators, dates and restrictions required to finalize our return to field plan. We are considering a multitude of scenarios, factors and safety and sanitation protocols that may come into play so that we are prepared to make decisions and take action as soon as we are able to do so.
As a sampling, some of the key strategies we are evaluating are:
- Reducing population density on the fields (i.e. staggered practice times, small group sessions and field traffic flow logistics)
- Safety and sanitation protocols (i.e. limiting contact drills, personal protective equipment for players and coaches, guidelines for managing frequently used equipment and health check requirements for attendance)
- Adjustments to our regular season timeline to make up for missed field time (i.e. extension of the season, monthly practice frequencies, camps, clinics, tryouts)
Based on what we know as of today, our approximate timeline is as follows. Please keep in mind this is very much a fluid plan in progress and reflects what we hope to see happen in the next 90 days and beyond. Decisions to implement or adjust any of these proposed plans will be made based on the most current facts and clearance from state and local authorities.
May: Continue with Stay Home Curriculum in its current form through May 30.
As we enter into a second month of virtual coaching and at home training, we are challenging our coaches to maximize the virtual coaching platform and find creative ways to mix things up and keep calls interesting (i.e. balancing technical challenges, tactical lessons, and fun team building exercises) over the course of the next four weeks. Camps and clinics previously scheduled for May will also be postponed.
June: Return to on field training with modifications and restrictions.
It is our hope that we will be able to return to the field in some capacity in June but fully expect there to be limitations with which we would need to comply. We are committed to working with the City of Carlsbad to devise a plan that enforces social distancing requirements using strategies such as those suggested previously for team training, camps and clinics.
July: Lift on field training restrictions as deemed safe and appropriate. Possible participation in local scrimmages and tournaments if state and local guidelines allow.
Assuming that we are back on the field in June/July, we would continue to adjust social distancing measures as appropriate until we reach a point where practice can resume it’s normal form. We realize this may take us into August and beyond, but only time will tell.
August/September: Possible participation in tournaments. League play to begin in September.
While it is unclear if and when summer tournaments will be able to resume, league play is still expected to begin on schedule in September.
As stated above, we are waiting on the necessary clearance from state and local officials before acting on any plans for returning to the field. These decisions will be dictated by the numbers, and facts, not our ideal dates or what we hope will happen. We are optimistic that life will start to look a little more normal with each passing week, and we will be ready to get back out there as soon as the time comes. We hope you will take comfort in knowing that we are preparing a flexible, creative and well researched plan that will allow us to expedite our return to the field, even if it looks different than what we are used to. Once we are able to safely resume training, our next priority will be implementing a plan to make up for on field instruction that has been missed during this time period.
We sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and commitment to our club in these trying times. We have been truly overwhelmed by the positive support from our membership as we do our best to make the most of this situation. As things progress in the next few weeks, we will be back in touch no later that May 25 with an update on our outlook for June. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to adhere to the existing stay home orders as advised by the City to help stop the spread and get us back out on the field soon. As the saying goes, we are all in this together and as the situation evolves, one thing that will not change is our commitment to be here when you need us.
As always, please feel free to contact us with questions: info@ourcitysc.com
Also, don’t forget about our ‘Stay Home Curriculum‘. As part of the curriculum, our coaches have been using Zoom as a means to interact with the players on a regular basis and every competitive player should have received a year long subscription for Beastmode Elite 1v1 Soccer Training and access to the Topya City SC Juggling Club app.
See you on the field,
Carl, Glenn, Michael and Steve
City SC Directors of Coaching
