Sanborn Regional Middle and High School
Winter Athletics 2021-22
Updated: December 2, 2021
Sanborn is planning a full roster of our winter sports this year, although COVID will impact some of these more than others. Below is the information needed to register for the following sports. Once registration is complete online, coaches will be reaching out with more information.
- Basketball HS / MS (Girls and Boys)
- Bowling HS only (Coed)
- Ice Hockey HS only (Coed)
- Indoor Track HS only (Girls and Boys)
- Spirit / Cheer HS / MS (Coed)
- Swimming HS only (Girls and Boys)
If we have interest, we may be able to offer kids opportunities in other sports where team competition is done individually: Alpine or Nordic Skiing, Wrestling, and Gymnastics. Student-athletes interested in those sports should see Mr. Dawson in the Athletics Office.
Physical Exams: These are required of all athletes, and must be no ‘older’ than 13 months at any given time. This can be a bit confusing, so here’s an example: If the exam was completed on October 1, 2021, it would be valid through November 1 of 2022 (13 months later). Most local urgent care centers will give your child a sports/camp physical on a walk-in basis for as little as $20. Mr. Dawson also has vouchers for free exams from Convenient MD--just ask.
Registration: We have moved very successfully to an entirely new system for student-athlete registration this year, FinalForms. This has dramatically improved communication, our ability to track athlete medical information in “real time”, and allows parents to keep current on needed forms and such more efficiently than with our previous system. In order to register your student-athlete, visit Final Forms at sanborn-nh.finalforms.com
Schedules:
As we did last year, I am keeping a Combined Schedule online for all teams in one place. This schedule is actually the one of two I use to track changes, and should be considered “live”--it may change at any time. One important note: I have found that Google Drive on my mobile device sometimes does not update as quickly as it might otherwise. If anyone has any tips to fix that, I would love to hear them. That schedule will be released soon as some minor changes are still being made.
Communication:
Occasionally, you will have team-specific questions, or even something about your particular student-athlete. I ask that you direct those to your coach(es) directly before reaching out to me. If you bring student- or team-specific concerns to me, my first question to you will be, “have you spoken to the coach?”, so you might as well start there. Please remember that our coaches work long hours for a minimum hourly rate, so email responses should be expected within about 24 hours. I also respectfully ask that you never approach a coach with concerns after a game--please let them deal with their teams, or head home after a long day for dinner with their family. This also allows a small reflection period for everyone involved.
Sportsmanship:
I would like to be clear that I do not tolerate any verbal abuse (even minor comments) to game officials, and communicating in a negative way to any athlete on the field is 100% unacceptable. The state, and nation, is suffering from a severe shortage of officials, and their #1 reason for leaving the avocation is “it is no fun any more”. Our kids are playing games. Please enjoy the game, and keep your opinions to yourself...or find me and we can chat about it.
COVID:
We are all aware of the rise in cases over the last few months, and communications from the Superintendent have outlined the district-wide response to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. At this time, we are recommending masking for our student-athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators, but not requiring them, with one exception. Page 2 of the Sanborn District Re-Opening Plan states: “All students, riders, and drivers are required to wear a mask while riding a school bus per federal guidelines.”
The State of NH Dept. of Public Health has recently updated their School and Childcare Toolkit. Page 9 and 10 present flowcharts we will follow if a student-athlete is in close contact with someone who subsequently tests positive for COVID-19, or is showing symptoms. It is imperative that student-athletes who are showing symptoms as defined by the CDC or have been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive stay away from school or athletic events until the requirements of those plans are followed. Please communicate with your team’s coach, and the athletic office (me). Often, your student-athlete will be able to participate in practices or games much more readily than last year after a short phone call. What is vital is to communicate with us.
Notifications: The District will NOT be sending community-wide emails for each positive case as was done last year. Instead, for student-athletes, we will be doing the following:
If an individual tests positive, parents of students who are on the same team as the individual who tested positive will be notified by email that there was a case in their student-athlete’s program and they should self-monitor their child. Programs will be all athletes participating in that sport at the school level, so HS Boys Soccer, or HS Cross Country, or MS Field Hockey. The school will include the case as part of the data that is made available to the public.
At this time, we will not be requiring masks for practices and/or games, unless we have an outbreak at the schools and students are masked during the school day. Remember, we do NOT control the policies of the teams who host us for games, or in the case of ice hockey, the arenas who host our games.
I look forward to the beginning of games this December, and the joy that comes with friendly school-to-school competition. Athletics is a core component of any educational program, and a huge part of the physical and mental health of our student-athletes. If you see me at games, please stop by and say hi. Go Sanborn!
Bob Dawson, Athletic Director
rdawson@sau17.net, 603-765-4552