The Masters School is set to begin the 2020-2021 school year remotely, but athletics are still part of the plan. Watch the video, above, to learn more. 

Director of Athletics Logan Condon told Tower that there will be a virtual preseason for fall athletes this year, with practices taking place daily from Monday, Aug. 31 through Thursday, Sept. 3. When classes begin, teams will meet online twice a week after school for workouts; coaches will also provide their players with content so they can practice asynchronously the remaining three days of the school week. 

Despite the uncertainty surrounding interscholastic competition, Condon hopes that students will take the remote practices seriously in hopes of competing at some point this year. 

“I want our athletes to have as much continuity as possible,” he said. “These are times where we can focus on aspects of our specific sport that we haven’t paid as much attention to before. Every ounce of effort that you put into your craft will make you that much better when we’re on the other side of this.” 

According to Condon, sessions will vary based on the sport but will include team building activities, fitness and technical practice. Recognizing that athletes have different resources available to them at home – such as equipment and access to facilities – he said coaches will work to “customize each students’ experience.” 

On July 6, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that low-risk youth recreational sports could resume as part of New York’s Phase Three reopening, but the governor has yet to release guidance for high school sports.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has gone ahead and delayed the start of the fall sports season until Sept. 21 and cancelled all league championship games. Condon said that while the school and other private institutions are following the lead of the NYSPHSAA until official guidance is given by the state, the fate of in-person athletics at Masters is predominantly dependent on the safety standards set by the school and how it proceeds following a month of remote learning. 

Of the fall sports that Masters offers, cross country and singles tennis are considered to be low-risk; soccer, field hockey and doubles tennis are moderate-risk sports, and volleyball is a high-risk sport, according to New York state guidance. The NYSPHSAA has floated around the idea of kicking off high school sports in January 2021 with an abbreviated winter season, followed by “fall” sports beginning in March and a shortened spring season to round out the year, but Condon pointed out that because most winter sports are indoors and are therefore high-risk, that might not be a feasible option. 

If you are interested in sharing your thoughts on the plan for athletics, you can email Logan Schiciano at Logan.schiciano@mastersny.org.