Conditioning sessions and cross country resume, other sports remain on hold

%28Left%29+Alex+Hu+%2811%29+sprints+at+a+cross+country+meet+last+year.+%28Right%29+Rigo+Gonzales+%2810%29+lunges+with+a+medicine+ball+during+a+workout+session+in+July.

Erica Cai and Muthu Panchanatham

(Left) Alex Hu (11) sprints at a cross country meet last year. (Right) Rigo Gonzales (10) lunges with a medicine ball during a workout session in July.

by Vishnu Kannan and Muthu Panchanatham

The upper school’s strength and conditioning program will resume this Thursday after a brief hiatus in December due to the new regulations implemented by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases last month.

According to an email from upper school athletics director Dan Molin, proper social distancing and frequent sanitization will be practiced at these workout sessions in order to ensure the safety of everyone participating. Athletes who are involved in groups outside of school will not be allowed to attend these sessions in-person. That being said, remote variants of these workouts (held over Zoom) will be offered as well.

A football-specific sports cohort will be offered exclusively to members of the football team, and they will meet Mondays to Thursdays from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. For those who are not a part of the football team, two in-person sports performance cohorts will be available, one meeting every Monday and Wednesday and the other every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m each day. The remote strength and conditioning cohort will meet over Zoom on B-days from 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. 

Those looking to sign up for one of these options can do so here.

Cross-country officially began their team practices on Tuesday, and COVID-adjusted cross-country meets will be held as soon as the stay-at-home order for Santa Clara County is removed. Those interested in joining the cross country team should email Coach Mia Purnell at [email protected]

“We are limited to only a few different parks to run at because the usual ones like Rancho and St. Joseph’s Hill are too crowded.” cross country athlete Rigo Gonzales (10) said. “Other than that, practice is pretty much [normal]. That’s the great thing about cross country: it’s one of the only sports that you can do under these conditions.”

News regarding the “Purple Tier” sports, which include golf, tennis, swimming and track and field will be announced by the athletics department soon.

“[As for the remaining sports], I’ll relay the plan as soon as I know the will of [their respective] leagues. I do think there will be some form of competitions this year, COVID-modified, of course,” Molin said.

In order to help students fulfill the graduation requirement for two units of physical education, the administration will also be offering a variety of other exercise options for credit. Students can visit the Upper School Physical Education Information Site for more details about these classes. Registration for these classes began at 12 p.m. on Tuesday for students in grades nine through 12.

“Regarding [physical education] credits, [the administration] will be understanding and grant what is reasonable given these unusual times,” Molin said.