LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – Its been a tough road for athletes all across Ohio in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competitions have been canceled, sports seasons have been postponed, and in-person practicing has been banned. Although this new normal has been hard on many high school athletes and coaches, many were glad to hear that the Ohio Governor and Health Department’s Responsible Restart Ohio implemented a “three-phase process” that would ease both athletes and coaches back into practicing and competing.

LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser, couldn’t be happier to get the Tiger Athletes and Coaches back into LHS’s athletic facilities, but in the safest way possible!

“We are in Phase 3 of our skills practice which will last until July 6th,” Conatser explained, “Once we get more guidance from the Ohio Governor and OHSAA, we will move forward with those restrictions and guidelines.”
On June 1st, LHS opened its Athletic Facilities in accordance with the OHSAA skills training guidelines.
“Our coaches are extremely committed to working with the Athletic Department to implement COVID-19 procedures and guidelines. As an Athletic Department, we walked through the process as a team, fine-tuning our plan prior to our athletes returning to campus,” Conatser said, “The plan is extremely thorough and detailed, as the safety of our student-athletes and coaches are our primary concern.”
Conatser provided the guidelines given to him by OHSAA that both coaches and student-athletes are following as they begin to return to athletics.
  1. Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the 2020-21 Final Forms COVID-19 waiver prior to the 1st training session.
  2. Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the LHS COVID-19 Self-Evaluation Google Form every day prior to each skills training session.
  3. Social distancing includes a 6-foot separation.  Entrances and Exits are outlined and over-communicated to avoid congregation and lingering of student-athletes.
  4. Facial coverings must be worn when in the building (gyms, fitness center, athletic training room). Facial coverings may be removed during the training session.
  5. Sanitation products and stations are located at the entry and exit of our inside facilities. We also ask EVERY student to bring: Water bottle, Sanitation wipes, Hand sanitizer, and Facial covering.
  6. All equipment, balls, etc. must be wiped down at the beginning and end of each training session.
  7. Three phases:  Phase 1: May 26th – June 8th / Phase 2:  June 9th – June 22nd / Phase 3: June 23rd – July 6th

Conatser gave credit to Loveland’s student-athletes, coaches, and parents for playing such an important role in the three-phase process.

“From parents dropping off their kids in designated spots to everyone following the COVID-19 guidelines. The coaches deserve an overwhelming amount of credit,” Conatser said, “These outstanding professionals make sure their programs have all of the information well ahead of time via communication from ZOOM, Google Hangout, email, Twitter, etc. We are looking forward to a safe and productive summer of skill training.”

For more Loveland Tiger sports updates stay tuned to the Sports 411 With Me, Cassie Mattia!