by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – The time has finally come to begin the reopening of high school athletic facilities! Loveland High School announced last Thursday on their school website that they would begin a three-phase process following and according to the guidelines given by the OHSAA for the reopening of their athletic facilities, which began on June 1st.

After the initial announcement, Loveland’s Athletic Department reassured the community that they have been in communication with all teams about the expectations and guidelines so that all of the student-athletes and coaches are both protected and safe.

Loveland High School Athletic Director Brian Conaster

LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser, explained more in-depth as to what the three-phrase reopening process entails and what his Athletic Department is going to do to ensure the safety of Loveland’s student-athletes and coaches.

“This is a three-phase process that follows the Ohio Governor and Health Department’s Responsible Restart Ohio. Our coaches are extremely committed to working with the Athletic Department to implement the COVID-19 procedures and guidelines,” Conatser explained, “As an Athletic Department, we walked through the process as a team, fine-tuning our plan prior to our athletes returning to campus. The plan is extremely thorough and detailed, as the safety of our student-athletes and coaches are our primary concern.  Here are a few guidelines that our coaches and student-athletes are taking as we begin our return to high school 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 told us that June 1st was a great day to be a Tiger because all of LHS’s student-athletes, coaches, and parents played such an important role in the reopening process.

“From parents dropping off their kids in designated spots to everyone following the COVID-19 guidelines, day one was a success,” Conatser said, “The coaches deserve an overwhelming amount of credit! These outstanding professionals made sure their programs had ALL of the information well ahead of time via communication for ZOOM, Google Hangout, Email, Twitter, etc. We are looking forward to a safe and productive summer of skill training. Welcome back TigerNation! Go Tigers!”

Here at Loveland Magazine, we are so happy to see the Tigers able to train and eventually compete again! We wish all the athletes and coaches the best of luck! Train Hard and Run Like a Tiger! Stay tuned for the latest Loveland Sports 411 with me, Cassie Mattia!