Staff writer
Evan as two of the nation’s premier collegiate conferences were pulling the plug on all fall sports, athletic director Jason Hett was telling Marion athletes to draw strength from each other as they all struggle with change.
The theme for Marion athletics this year is “Stronger Together,” he told about 100 students and parents gathered Tuesday evening at the school’s stadium.
“I think now more than ever, we have to be united,” he said. “We’re all in this together. We’re all on the same page.
We’re all going through something none of us have ever experienced, and it’s better if we do it together.”
He told students to be flexible if changes in schedules pop up.
“We just have to adapt,” he said. “We will do the best we can and move forward one step at a time.”
If they do compete, he urged athletes to practice good sportsmanship, especially with this year’s officials.
“That’s super important,” he said. “There is a huge official shortage at KSHAA. They are short hundreds of officials just from the fear of what is going on.”
Guidelines regarding classes and events could change with the number of cases, but he urged parents to keep students who felt unwell at home.
Some other guidelines this year include:
- Masks and face coverings are to be worn at all times.
- Students are to wash their hands before practice.
- No pregame and postgame handshakes.
- Players, coaches and spectators will get temperature checks before every game.
- Students will need to be signed out to ride home with a parent after a game and are encouraged to do so.
“If you could take them home. It would be great,” he said. “If not, we are asking that, if there is a shower available for them to shower.”
Practices for Marion’s district teams are scheduled to start Monday.