Canton High athletes gearing up for fall sports season

Colin Albert and the Bulldogs will return to the practice field on Aug. 20. (Mike Tureski photo)

The news on COVID-19 and impacts of the Delta variant continue to change daily with guidelines shifting constantly across the region, state and nation. Even the Canton School Committee could be making decisions regarding masks and other COVID impacts at its meeting tonight.

CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson urges all CHS fall athletes to watch the Athletics website daily for the latest news and updates.

As of today, fall sports are due to begin in earnest the week of Monday, August 23, with first practices and team meetings.

The only change currently due to COVID-19 is that all athletes must wear masks on buses in accordance with state education guidelines for school bus transportation.

As of now, there will be no COVID-related impacts for outdoor sports practices but there could be impacts to practices for volleyball and cheerleading, which is held both inside and outside the gym.

Erickson said in a recent interview that the MIAA is contemplating reinstating its COVID-19 Task Force, which established rule modifications and COVID protocols during the previous school year.

For now, all fall sports will return to the status quo from 2019 with regular practices and full league schedules, including contests against non-division opponents. All fall schedules have been completed and are available on the CHS Athletics website.

The biggest change beyond COVID-19 is the playoff scheduling. For cross country and golf, the postseason will be similar to past years with league, sectional and state competition. The remaining sports will be using a state-wide format, eliminating sectional tournaments. Teams will be split into divisions based on school enrollment, record, strength of schedule and margin of victory. As a result, there is a possibility that CHS teams will be matched up with teams in the western and central parts of the state in addition to teams from the north and south regions.

Each division will have 60 to 70 teams with the top 32 making the playoffs. Generally, this will include teams with a .500 or better record.

In other news pertaining to CHS athletics, Erickson said all fall head coaches are returning. He is continuing the hunt for a head varsity boys basketball coach and wrestling coaches.

Erickson said the CHS Athletics Department is working with a national company, Ticket Spicket, to begin an online-telephone ticket ordering system, which could begin sometime this fall.

Also, Dr. Greg Dale, a national trainer and director of sports psychology at Duke University, will be returning to CHS in September to conduct a workshop for captains and coaches. He will also serve as a guest speaker at the annual Back to School Athletic Night for parents and athletes on Tuesday, September 14.

Fall Registration Information

Anyone interested in trying out for a fall athletic program MUST have a parent register you prior to the following deadlines: Football – Monday, August 16, at noon and for all other sports – Wednesday, August 18, at noon. Also, a participant must provide a copy of a recent physical (good for 13 months) in order to be eligible for the first day of tryouts/practices. The easiest way to register is to visit the CHS Athletics website and complete the online registration available there. The athletic fee remains the same at $195.

First Fall Practices & Meetings

Football: Equipment will be handed out Sunday, August 15 — seniors at 4 p.m., juniors at 4:45 p.m., sophomores at 5:30 p.m. and freshmen at 6:30 p.m. The team’s first practice will be August 20 at 9 a.m.

Field Hockey: Tryouts for field hockey will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 23. Please be at the CHS turf field on time and ready to play. Please bring stick, mouthguard, goggles (must be FH approved), shin guards and water bottle. Be prepared for both track and turf workouts by bringing both sneakers and turf shoes. Tryouts will be August 23-25 at 10:30 a.m. If you have any questions, contact coach Chrissy O’Connor at rsd.oconnor@gmail.org.

Golf: There will be a mandatory golf team meeting on Thursday, August 19, at 10 a.m. in the CHS Distance Learning Lab to discuss the tryout process/schedule. Times and locations for tryouts on Monday, August 23, will be distributed at that time. For questions, email coach Mike Barucci at baruccim@cantonma.org.

Volleyball: All girls interested in playing volleyball (no experience necessary) are invited to come out for tryouts in the CHS gym. Three teams are fielded: varsity, JV and freshman. Tryouts are Monday, August 23, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 24, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and Wednesday, August 25, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Practices for all three teams will start on Thursday, August 26. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to start time. Bring plenty of water and some snacks for break time. Any questions, Contact coach Pat Cawley at 781-910-7597 or Patriciabcawley@gmail.com.

Cross Country: Cross Country is a distance running sport. Everybody on the team (JV or varsity) runs between 2.5 and 3.1 miles for races and daily training runs are anywhere from three to six miles. If you are trying out for another sport and that doesn’t work out, but you would like to join XC, you have until Wednesday, September 8, to contact the coaches. The first day of practice is Wednesday, August 25, at 4:30 p.m. at the CHS Field House (track). Any clarifying questions, please email coach David Hiltz at hiltzd@cantonma.org.

Boys Soccer: All boys interested in playing soccer should report to the turf/track on Monday, August 23, for a 6 p.m. session. The first half of the session will be on the track doing a two-mile run and core/upper body work followed by on-field soccer activity. The session will conclude at 9 p.m. Please wear running sneakers for the run and cleats for play. For more information, contact coach Danny Erickson at ericksond@cantonma.org.

Girls Soccer: All girls interested in playing soccer should report to the turf/track on Monday, August 23, at 5 p.m. for a fitness test, including the Cooper Test. Please bring sneakers and cleats for the session. Goalkeepers will not be running the Cooper but will do a separate fitness test. Please plan for a full week of practice with a day off on Saturday. For more information, contact coach Idris Senyonjo at edris29@gmail.com.

Cheerleading: Practice will start on Monday, August 23, from 3-5 p.m. in the Rodman gym. Tryouts concluded on June 17 and the team has been notified.

Unified Basketball: The Unified Basketball program begins in October. Registration takes place in September.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Aug 14 2021. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.