Special prohibition against soccer issued in Montgomery County; wrestling also prohibited after being found to be twice as risky as any other sport

Under an Executive Order effective August 5, 2020, soccer is explicitly banned in Montgomery County.

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/Resources/Files/2020/ExecutiveOrder87-20-AmendingRestatingOrderJune192020.pdf

The list of sports and their risk ratings can be found at:

https://www.marylandsports.us/sites/default/files/Return2Play/MDSports_ReturntoPlay%20Report_0.pdf

Some sports, such as shooting and table tennis, are listed as both Low Risk and Medium Risk, so maybe they are medium-low risk.  Wrestling is listed twice under High Risk which suggests that it is twice as risky as any other high risk sport.  Regular tennis is not listed at all.  Maybe tennis is not recognized as a sport in Maryland.

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Maryland Best Practices for Youth Sports as of June 15, 2020

https://commerce.maryland.gov/Documents/BusinessResource/Youth-Sports-COVID-19-Best-Practices.pdf

Is The Freshman Dominating MD [Rockville] High School Basketball Actually 20 Years Old?

The Cinderella-est story of the schoolboy hoops season in the Washington, D.C. area came to an end over the weekend. It turns out the year’s most fantastical feel-good tale really was a fantasy after all.

The Rockville Rams, a Montgomery County, Md. public school squad that went2-22 last season, won its district this year. The Rams blew a second-half lead to Governor Thomas Johnson High on Saturday, losing out on a trip to the Final Four of the Maryland state championships...

https://deadspin.com/is-the-freshman-dominating-maryland-high-school-basketb-1823541187

Concussions in Teenagers Tied to Multiple Sclerosis Risk

From the New York Times, October 18,  2017, reporter Gretchen Reynolds. To read the full story go here.

Here’s yet another reason to protect young athletes from head trauma: A large-scale new study found that concussions in adolescents can increase the risk of later developing multiple sclerosis. The risk of multiple sclerosis, or M.S., an autoimmune nervous system disorder with an unknown cause, was especially high if there were more than one head injury.

The overall chances that a young athlete who has had one or more head injuries will develop multiple sclerosis still remain low, the study’s authors point out. But the risk is significantly higher than if a young person never experiences a serious blow to the head.

The drumbeat of worrying news about concussions and their consequences has been rising in recent years, as most of us know, especially if we have children who play contact sports. Much of this concern has centered on possible links between repeated concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a serious, degenerative brain disease that affects the ability to think.

But there have been hints that head trauma might also be linked to the development of other conditions, including multiple sclerosis.

Petition: KEEP MCPS GIRLS TENNIS IN THE FALL

The Maryland State Athletic Association has issued a ruling making girls ineligible from playing in the State championships if their season is not in the Spring. This ruling appears vindictive in that it only affects MCPS girls tennis participants. As a result of this ruling, there has been a movement by administrators to move the MCPS girls tennis season from the Fall – when it has been held for as long as anyone can remember – to the Spring. Moving the girls season from Fall to Spring would have several major undesirable consequences:

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-mcps-girls-tennis-in-the-fall

Participation jumped 31 percent; for children who attend high-poverty schools, it shot up almost 80 percent.

 ‘An incredible impact’: Poor kids are being priced out of youth sports. Here’s one solution.

...“Just doing this one small thing had an incredible impact for a lot of families,” said Berk, who published his findings this summer in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration.

The fee — $50 today, but $40 during the study period in 2009 — was covered by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, so the change cost the city nothing. Now, having read the results of the study, Gaithersburg officials are considering making the waiver process permanent, which could increase costs for providing youth sports by at least several thousand dollars. There is also a risk of waiver fraud...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/an-incredible-impact-poor-kids-are-being-priced-out-of-youth-sports-heres-one-solution/2016/10/27/027fb7a0-97ce-11e6-bb29-bf2701dbe0a3_story.html

Steamy Times at Blair High

Its August 15.  Most of us in Montgomery County are enjoying the last few days of a very hot summer before school begins.

Unless you play high school sports.

Yes, the sports teams are back - and we have the pictures!  Here is a picture of Blair's football team taken last Friday, August 12.

But, you may ask, isn't it hot on the fields?  How hot?  On Friday, Reagan National reported a high of 99 degrees and a low of 93 degrees between noon and 6 pm, with 50 percent humidity.

And on the artificial turf?  Here is a picture recorded of actual field temperatures.

Our not so very sophisticated weather gauge on the left indicated that at a little after 3 pm, the air temperature was 98 degrees, while the temp on the Blair artificial turf field was a sizzling 151 degrees.

How would our regular grass fields fare in the heat?

A few minutes later, our weather gauges recorded a more modest 84 degrees on the natural grass surrounding the Blair field.

What a difference (a few) chemicals can make.

MCPS supposedly is enforcing rules related to the heat on the fields.  According to the webpage:

Schools shall monitor prevailing weather conditions, including the current heat index, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and make appropriate practice and activity accommodations. The heat index on the Athletics webpage applies to the 20877 zip code, the most central site in Montgomery County.

And once the heat index is calculated, coaches are instructed to follow the following guidelines:

Temperature Guidelines

Heat Index	Restrictions
0-90° F	Normal practice guidelines and restrictions
91–104° F	Exercise caution; observe players carefully; frequent water breaks;   limit time in which players are wearing full equipment
105° F +	No outside activities; activities limited to air-conditioned school facilities

   

If you calculate the heat index from the rubric on the webpage, the heat index on Friday at Blair HS was an outstanding 113 degrees!  Factor in the artificial turf, and ouch - it was really hot on that field.

Did Blair's football coach really hold a practice OUTSIDE when the heat index was 113 degrees? And on a turf field that registered 151 degrees?

Blair HS is known for its brains, not its athletic abilities, but it seems as if neither is back from vacation just yet.

How hot is it on your MoCo football field?

Parents - Its not just football that is subject to the restrictions when temperatures go soaring. Pay attention, and let your coaches know you are monitoring the heat index over the next few weeks.

For those of you lucky/unlucky enough to have an artificial turf field - watch out or your student may find themselves burnt out before school begins.

And good luck to all the Blazers sports teams - assuming you don't wilt in the heat!

MCPS discourages volunteering as public school sports managers by singling them out for severe limitation on SSL hours.

From MCPS SSL Fact Page

 by David Wilkerson

The Montgomery County Service Learning organization has singled out public school sports managers to limit the earned SSL [Student Service Learing] hours to a small fraction of the actual hours worked. No other SSL activities are limited (including other school related activities) and in fact one of the basic requirements of all SSL activities is that Students receive one SSL hour for every hour of service outside of the instructional day. 

Earning SSL hours beyond the graduation requirement doesn’t provide tangible benefits to the student. But the SSL hours are a token of recognition like the gold stars teachers gave in kindergarten. These have no value and cost the school system nothing, but they are used to encourage volunteerism. In this case, they seem to be discouraging volunteers by telling them they don’t deserve the gold stars other people get. They have taken something that is free (SSL hours – gold stars) and decided not to spend it on these sports managers for some unspoken reason which seems on the surface to be a crusade against public school sports. 

This limit doesn’t affect the ability to earn enough SSL hours for graduation, but instead serves no other purpose than to denigrate this volunteer activity. These administrators have gone to an effort to make this distinction but after several months of emails and calls, they are unwilling to explain the true reason for this decision. The only reasons given were complete nonsense. Mrs. Block-Rincan said that it was because they determined 30 hours was enough to meet the graduation requirement (which is of course true of all SSL activities but only applied here). Mrs. Smith told me it was because the managers enjoyed this job – which of course is also hopefully true of all volunteer activities. Mr. Warner scheduled a meeting with me but postponed it numerous times and then cancelled it.  

This SSL organization is part of the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships – specifically Timothy B. Warner MCPS Chief Engagement and Partnership Officer (301-279-3074, Timothy_B_Warner@mcpsmd.org ), Mrs. Kimberly Block –Rincan Coordinator, student service learning and volunteer programming (301 279 3454, Kimberly_A_Bloch-Rincan@mcpsmd.org ), and Mrs. Cheryl Smith Director, Family and Community Engagement (301 279 3100 Cheryl_l_smith@mcpsmd.org). 

In the SSL brochure issued by the Montgomery County board of education Joshua P. Starr, Ed.D. (The superintendent of schools 301-279-3383, Joshua_Starr@mcpsmd.org) states that “SSL is an opportunity to strengthen character, develop responsibility, learn new skills, explore careers, and develop avenues for civic engagement.” Being a sports manager for a public school team meets ALL of the MCPS documented requirements for earning SSL hours, and frankly I can’t think of any volunteer activity that can do the things mentioned by Mr. Starr better...

...These infections are a huge issue and it requires diligent process and substantial effort to keep the mats and equipment clean. Our managers clean the mats before and after practice every day. If not for the managers doing this job, the schools would need to hire professionals to keep the mats clean using real dollars instead of free SSL hours...

...Personal bias against public school sports cannot be used to drive public policy and to make decisions like this that single out a class of (mostly girl) students doing a valuable volunteer function. Decisions need to be transparent, and must be based on objective criteria. 

full article at this link

Arnie Duncan: We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities

From U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan, Jan 25, 2013.  To read and post comments, go here.  ED's Guidance is here.

Playing sports at any level—club, intramural, or interscholastic—can be a key part of the school experience and have an immense and lasting impact on a student’s life. Among its many benefits, participation in extracurricular athletic activities promotes socialization, the development of leadership skills, focus, and, of course, physical fitness. It’s no secret that sports helped to shape my life. From a very early age, playing basketball taught me valuable lessons about grit, discipline, and teamwork that are still with me to this day.

Students with disabilities are no different – like their peers without disabilities, these students benefit from participating in sports. But unfortunately, we know that students with disabilities are all too often denied the chance to participate and with it, the respect that comes with inclusion. This is simply wrong. While it’s the coach’s job to pick the best team, students with disabilities must be judged based on their individual abilities, and not excluded because of generalizations, assumptions, prejudices, or stereotypes.  Knowledgeable adults create the possibilities of participation among children and youth both with and without disabilities.

Today, ED’s Office for Civil Rights has released guidance that clarifies existing legal obligations of schools to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate alongside their peers in after-school athletics and clubs. We make clear that schools may not exclude students who have an intellectual, developmental, physical, or any other disability from trying out and playing on a team, if they are otherwise qualified. This guidance builds on a resource document the Department issued in 2011 that provides important information on improving opportunities for children and youth with disabilities to access PE and athletics.

Federal civil rights laws require schools to provide equal opportunities, not give anyone an unfair head start. So schools don’t have to change the essential rules of the game, and they don’t have to do anything that would provide a student with a disability an unfair competitive advantage. But they do need to make reasonable modifications (such as using a laser instead of a starter pistol to start a race so a deaf runner can compete) to ensure that students with disabilities get the very same opportunity to play as everyone else. The guidance issued today will help schools meet this obligation and will allow increasing numbers of kids with disabilities the chance to benefit from playing sports.

Arne Duncan is U.S. Secretary of Education

Churchill gets about $100,000 per year from booster club; Kennedy gets $7,000

• This is the way social justice warriors run a public school system?
• Booster Clubs are private organizations. The Booster Club will be selecting the advertisers for the scoreboard, not the Board of Education.  Can a liquor store advertise at a football game? What are the rules? 
• What happens when the Booster Club can't maintain the $80,000 sign?  Taxpayers must step in.

The Gazette:  The haves, and have nots

...Conversely, at John F. Kennedy, longtime athletic director Ken Cudd said there is no active booster club. The Silver Spring school’s organization dissolved last winter due to a lack of parental support... 

...“There’s a lot of haves and have-nots, so maybe there needs to be a booster salary cap or luxury tax,” James H. Blake booster club president Mark Wannen said with a laugh...

MCPS cuts schools athletics budget by 10 percent

Gazette:  Montgomery County cuts schools athletics budget by 10 percent

Junior varsity programs take biggest hit in county's cuts to athletics

Fall high school varsity coaches in Montgomery County may still hold two-a-day workouts next month, but they’ll only get paid for one of those practices.
The two-a-day fall practices was the largest chunk of cutbacks the Board of Education made from athletics in its 2012 fiscal budget, accounting for nearly a third of the $751,900 reduced from the previous year. The 10 percent reduction also includes cuts to postseason coaching compensation and junior varsity sports... article continues here.

Cuts to MCPS athletics budget

Montgomery County Public Schools cut about 10 percent of its athletics program when it adopted the 2011-12 fiscal budget on June 16. Here are the cuts made:

$246,400 by reducing stipends to pay coaches for two-a-day practices in the fall

$126,700 by reducing the number of stipends paid in junior varsity sports; reduced each junior varsity sport by 2 to 3 games and 3 practices

$88,200 by eliminating three practice sessions per season for all high school varsity sports

$69,800 by reducing high school postseason compensation by 55 percent

$63,200 by eliminating one game per each of six teams at middle schools

$45,700 by reducing referees and transportation costs for junior varsity sports

$33,600 by limiting high school junior varsity cheerleading to fall only

$32,200 by eliminating high school varsity spring cheerleading

$17,500 by eliminating high school developmental girls golf

$12,900 by cutting stipends to high school intramural directors by 50 percent

$9,800 by reducing the high school coed and boys volleyball seasons by one game

$3,800 by reducing the amount each middle school receives for equipment and supplies by $100

$2,100 by reducing stipends to middle school athletics coordinators (four hours per school)