Hello Lady Titan LAX Family,

First, I want to let everyone know that our season is not cancelled, so we will play our games unless something changes drastically within the entire ULAX league. So that being said, allow me to get to the main reason why I am sending this email out to everyone.

Tuesday evening I received a phone call from our LSW Athletic Director. He had seen us practicing in Greenwood, and quickly informed me that all official school teams and club teams (which we are) have not been cleared to participate in school athletic activities. The soonest we would be allowed to meet in larger groups would be on 15 JUNE, and that is only to practice and condition. Also, he stated that my coaching staff needs to stop coaching and remove ourselves from this summer activity until we are cleared to participate by LSR7. So, what does that mean for us?

I have managed to come up with a workaround that will allow us to continue to participate. I want to be very clear that LSW nor LSR7 is to blame on this. I was monitoring Jackson County COVID guidelines, but failed to cross-reference that with LSR7 guidelines, so this one is on me. LSW is bound by LSR7 guidance, so we must follow that as well. In an effort to allow us to still play in the summer league, I came up with an idea.

Here’s the workaround:

- All coaches on my coaching staff are no longer allowed to interact with the players in a coaching capacity. This means we can’t run practices, nor can we be on the sidelines during the games.
- I have changed our team names in the league to remove all affiliation with LSW. If we are not a school team, but just a bunch of girls who happen to go to the same school, we really don’t fall under the LSR7 umbrella.
- Games will be played under these team names: Varsity = Goal Diggers. JV = Mesh Addicts. You’ll find those name in the ULAX website and in the schedules.
- During games, the girls will coach and manage themselves…which is where I am expecting the Senior leadership to shine. This is how our girls who played in ULAX last summer did it, and it worked out just fine.
- Any practices that may happen will be player-led, so as of right now, there are no longer any “official” practices at Hitt Park. If the players all plan to get together, they will coordinate among themselves.

I hope this is not too confusing, but it’s just part of the “new normal” we are still trying to get used to. Please do not see LSW nor LSR7 as the enemy here…they are just doing what they think is best for the health and safety of the girls. We have a workaround, so we don’t lose anything here but the formal coaching.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns…please feel free to reach out to me at lswhsgirlslax@gmail.com or 816-977-5707

~Coach Jay