SPSA Soccer Families,

Tomorrow we finally get to reopen our fields and let the kids play.  Tomorrow will mark 182 days since we emailed all of you saying that the South Park Soccer Association was suspending all soccer activities effectively immediately and until further notice.  It is a great feeling to finally get the kids back out there.

I know a lot of you are excited and some of you are nervous.  We ask all of you to enter into tomorrow with an open mind and a smile on your face along with some patience.  Outside of the grass being green on the field again a lot of things will not look the same. There will be no concession stand. There will be less games being played and not to mention; everyone will have a mask on. 

We know there have been a lot of rules and procedures that have been put in place and it seems overwhelming.  We feel the same way.  We are simply doing our best to follow all of the different directives and mandates provided to us so we can provide a safe playing environment for all of our players and families. 

With that being said, let’s point out a few simple things we must follow that will give us the best chance to keeping the program up and running each week.

 
Wear a mask. Cover your nose and mouth with it. This even goes for children when they are not playing and all adults who are spectators.  We ask that if you have a health condition that prevents you from wearing a mask to stay home or in the car.  We know that that statement may not be too popular however, we simply want the kids to be able to play soccer and be outdoors with their friends.

·        Before coming to Evans Field do your own health assessment check. If you are feeling ill stay home.

·        Disinfect your hands when arriving at Evans Fields.  Everyone is encouraged to bring their own hand sanitizer.  If you feel like you to need reapply find one of our new hand sanitizing stations that will be on the premises.

·        When entering and leaving the facility please do so with social distancing in mind.  Use the driveway not the walkway.  There may be spectators sitting on the walkway observing a game on the upper field.   Please follow the map attached here for instructions on how to enter and exit.

·        Do not arrive more than 15 minutes early.  Do not attempt to go to the sidelines marked for your game until after the other game has cleared. Do not let your player go to their bench area until the previous game has cleared.  

·        Speaking of benches, do not expect to see our regular benches.  You may want to let your children know about this in advance.  It is one less thing for us to disinfect and worry about. 

·        When on the sideline, stay six feet back from the field. Do not touch a ball with your hands that gets played out of bounds. Family groups can stand together on the sideline.  But families should be separated by (6) feet of distance. 

·        When the game is over. Make sure your child has sanitized their hands and leave immediately so the next group of players and families can come enjoy their scheduled game.

·        Upon returning home please remove your child’s uniform and launder it.

·        Our suppliers are experiencing delays due to COVID, not unlike many other businesses, retailers, etc.  We currently have about half of our in-house uniforms.  We are expecting additional deliveries today, but everything may not be in.  Please bear with us.  Our hands are tied.  Uniforms were ordered in a timely manner and are coming from California. 

In closing, we want to express that if you are not comfortable with returning to full field play we understand and respect that. All that we ask is that you communicate this with your child’s coach so they can prepare for the game with the players they do have.  We know there are a lot of different opinions and feelings about the COVID pandemic. We respect your opinions, however, in order for us to provide this program we have to adhere to our guidelines. Our only interest is simply getting kids back on the field and we feel that the field is a safe place from political discussion or debate over what is right and what is wrong.  We are all volunteers doing this because we love to see kids play soccer.  Please be patient, please be kind!  Thank a coach, thank a referee!  We are all in this together!!

 

Thank you,

South Park Soccer Association