FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK – NOVEMBER EDITION
Dear Crusaders Families,
It is our privilege once again to reach out to all of you to inform you of the latest activities and events taking place in our club as well as the local soccer community.
It hardly seems possible that we are now entering the 9th month of the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, this may seem like a negative statement and indeed, this virus has left such a devastating mark in our society that will not soon be forgotten; changing forever our perspective on life. Within this scenario, we would also like to point out, just how fortunate we have been in our community. The ball continues to roll, we still hear laughter on the fields and we are all still seeing the children play the game they love. We must be grateful for this blessing. It is through this positive view that we begin our message to you.
THANK YOU
First on our list is our continued gratitude to all who help us maintain our children on the field: Our parents, coaching staff, team managers, the board of directors, and administrators, doing such an unselfish job in establishing, enforcing, monitoring, and above all, respecting all safety protocols so we can continue to enjoy the privilege to be outdoors during such difficult times. Thank you all!!!
COVID-19
As anticipated the numbers have increased as winter settles upon us. In response to this, we saw more drastic measures handed down from the Governor’s office. As this was taking place, the number of positive cases increased in our communities, our club also fell prey to the virus. 3 positive cases amongst players have been reported to date. Upon notification by the families, the implementation of safety protocols was instituted by taking the following actions:
- Immediate removal of the affected individual from the pod.
- The prescribed 10-day quarantine was instituted.
- Continuous monitoring by the coach of the situation.
- Retesting the individual prior to returning to training to ensure that the situation was under control with an authorization from the attending physician to return to training.
We are very pleased to inform you that all situations have been resolved favorably and we have had no other related cases as of this time. We want to thank first the affected families for taking responsibility for the situation and immediately making the club aware of the case, and to our staff for their quick response in applying the established protocols that helped contain the situation.
We all realize that we are far from being out of the woods yet, therefore, we ask for your continued support as we remain vigilant and reiterate our commitment as a club to the health and safety of our membership.
TRAINING & WINTER RECESS
Fortunately for us, the mandates that came from Sacramento did not affect our training. Under the classification of “outdoor activities”, we continue to train as we did before the new mandates.
All things considered, the ability to train our players three times per week is nothing less than a luxury. To make sure we continue to serve our families as we have, we ask of two things:
- That all adults continue to wear a mask.
- That only one parent attends practice, especially at Saturday practices. We really appreciate your cooperation in minimizing the size of gatherings on the field.
Other than this, all previous preventive measures such as inter-club scrimmages or competitions are not allowed and remain a breach of Presidio as well as Cal South rules. We must consider that should there be any injuries or mishaps at the activity, the coach as well as the family will be on their own. Crusaders will not approve or condone such outside of the club activities until they are approved by the CDC, health authorities, or our parent organizations.
We would also like to inform you that we will be entering our winter recess from Sunday the 19th to Monday, January 4th. Enjoy your time off.
PRESIDIO DIRECTORS OF COACHING MEETING
A motion was accepted at the last Presidio directors of coaching meeting held on December 8th. The motion was to terminate the 2020 season and in lieu of it, look to play a Spring season provided that the health authorities and all powers that be allow competition. More details are to follow as preparations will begin in detailing the particulars of the proposed season. Please keep in mind that this will only be this year and in response to the current health situation we face. So as of now, it looks like if allowed, we will be playing after all.
A second motion was passed to look at a different approach to tryouts. It was agreed that under the present COVID-19 situation, to continue to have tryouts as we have would be a detriment to all. The first motion was to form a committee to frame an appropriate model for tryouts. The second part of the motion was that once the structure of the tryouts has been established, then an enforcement committee will be formed to deal with any infringements of established rules.
As more information becomes available on these two motions, we will be passing it on to you all.
Lastly, we want to wish you the most wonderful holidays, and may 2021 bring you prosperity, happiness, and health. Thank you for allowing us to serve you and allowing us to partake in the development of your child as we fulfill the mission of the club: To use the game of soccer as a vehicle to develop leaders on and off the field.
All the best,
Rene Miramontes
Director of Coaching