Greetings Downstate family!
I hope that you’re enjoying the summer weather, yet maintaining safe social distancing and safety practices. Finally, it’s looking like we’ll be able to resume some carefully controlled volleyball sessions and return to the gym!
We have finalized our July day camp schedule and it is posted on the website at downstatevolleyball.com. Registration will open on Saturday morning, for Downstate athletes only (answer “Yes” to the appropriate question and the registration fee will be removed at checkout – note, I put an extremely high price in place so that non-Downstate won’t register). Please carefully review the list of camps and select the correct week, location, time, and level – there are many choices, but we are expecting the camps to fill quickly.
A few notes about the July skills sessions:
- We are holding sessions at both the Downstate Athletic Center and at Somers Sports Arena.
- Please register for only ONE camp per athlete, until Tuesday. On Tuesday, June 30, we’ll open registration for the general public and Downstate athletes may register for additional sessions.
- Camps are divided by level (Modified, JV, and Varsity) and should be based on your playing level for the upcoming school season.
- We hope to run limited beach/sand sessions at Putnam Valley park, starting at the same time. As soon as we get confirmation from the town regarding court availability, we’ll add registration for those sessions to the website.
We will be following all relevant CDC and NY state guidelines in regards to our camps, including:
- Limiting groups to less than 10 people (8 athletes plus a coach on each court – known as a “pod”).
- Athletes will need to bring a health screening form to camp – we will email them to all registrants.
- No spectators will be allowed, camps are drops-off and pick-up only. The upstairs is off-limits and players will be allowed 1 backpack each to be kept at courtside.
- Water fountains have been turned off – please bring adequate hydration.
- We’ll have 1 entrance and 1 exit at the facility.
- Everyone entering the facility must cover their face – coaches will wear gatornecks during the camps and athletes will be able to remove theirs after they are split into their pods.
- We’ll have sanitation stations setup next to each court.
- Each court will have their own, limited, supply of balls and will sanitize them at the end of each session.
- We will clean common areas on a regular basis.
- If the CDC or NY state issues further guidance, we may need to make adjustments.
We also plan to resume limited private lessons, starting on Tuesday, July 7. We will have a registration on the website to schedule these, as well.
It’s been a long period of abstinence from the sport that we all love! We can’t wait to get back in the gym.
See you on the court soon!
Downstate Juniors VBC
