In this message:
- City of Phoenix and PVUSD Field Update
- Coaching Staff Updates
- Fallball 2020 Updates
- Fitness Sessions Every Wednesday
- Return to Play Guidelines
- Updated Liability Form
- Virtual Club Rush This Week!
PGLC families,
After a very long, very strange summer, the calendar has turned to September and the heat has finally broken (we hope!) which means it’s time to start ramping up our fall activities.
Obviously, things are different this fall, and the PGLC board spend most of the last six months winding down the remnants of last season while also scenario planning for how we can deliver fun and effective lacrosse activities this fall and spring, regardless of PVUSD’s own decisions and actions and general field availability.
With that in mind, here’s the latest information we can share, and of course this can change at any time.
State of play with PVUSD and City of Phoenix fields
As of Friday September 11, City of Phoenix has just opened their fields to group practices and competitions for the first time this week, which is a positive across the board even if the vast majority of lighted field inventory is consumed by the large, for-profit soccer factories around the Valley, and if anything demand will be higher and supply less than years’ past.
PVUSD, our usual partner for fall and spring fields, refuses to offer any kind of timetable into when or if the fields will be freed up to non-AIA supported renters like PGLC.
The fact that AIA has approved football for the fall is also a positive, but we’re moving forward under the assumption we will not have PVUSD fields this fall and working to identify alternatives.
Coaching staff updates
At the end of last season, our excellent head coach Lisa Ojea had to step down from her role due to the growing need for her to be available in the evenings for their growing daughter Aubrey, especially since her husband Nick’s job in the athletics department at GCU often had him working when Lisa wasn’t, and vice versa. Lisa’s impact on the club’s culture and performance cannot be measured, and we’re incredibly grateful for all she’s done for us the last several seasons!
That vacancy created an opportunity, and we’re excited to announce that Larissa Murdock has accepted the role as the head coach of PGLC for the 20-21 season! Larissa has been an integral part of the program since she began playing with the JV team as a freshman in 2009, winning her first state title as a senior in 2012. After earning her nursing degree from GCU, she returned to the club and has been a mainstay on the sideline, serving as assistant and head coaches for junior varsity and varsity teams each year before accepting the club’s head coaching position.
In a year of tremendous change, disruption and uncertainty, Coach Murdock has the deep ties to Pinnacle, the knowledge of the game, the coaching experience and the relationships with the players and her fellow coaches that will be a steadying force for the program this year.
The PGLC continues to build out the coaching staff for the fall and spring, achieving verbal commitments from coaches Ronni Winter and Reggie Younger at the high school level, and Dave Podolak and Megan Fritz at the youth and middle school levels, if those programs continue this fall.
We’re also working hard to evaluate and sign several new additions we’ll announce as soon as we’re able to agree to terms.
From a club perspective, if we’re not able to use some of the fields we’re used to accessing, our plan is to reallocate those resources to more position-specific coaching to help us make the most of our time together.
Fallball 2020 updates
At this point, we are committed to delivering a fallball program that will feature:
- 20 lacrosse sessions between late September and mid-December
- These sessions will be 1.5 to 2 hours in length
- Times will be determined, based on field lighting and availability
- Days of the week will likely be Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the potential for a weekend session here and there
- If PVUSD fields do not open, we’ll be using local fields like Cashman Park, Doc Cavalliere Park, and other facilities that may not be fully lit but offer adjacent light from basketball courts in the event the practice times stretch beyond dusk
- We’ll be looking into position-specific sessions as well, for goalies, defenders and middles/attack
- We’ll look to participate in a local festival our tournament in November or December to give our girls a taste of competition before rolling into the spring season – the Southwest Classic in Tempe is a good example
- More details will be forthcoming, but FLEXIBILITY will be the word of the fall. Locations and times may shift week-to-week in a worse-case scenario, but we will continue to communicate with all participating families well in advance
- As soon as we have details finalized and loaded into the Registration tool, we’ll let everyone know so we can gauge interest and get going as quickly as possible.
Fitness sessions every Wednesday
Coach Larissa will be running fitness sessions from 6:15 to 7:30 every Wednesday night at Desert Peak Community Park west of Cave Creek Rd and Pinnacle Peak Rd. Times may change as the sun sets earlier.
These introductory sessions are designed to help girls shake off the rust of the last six weeks and lay down a foundation of overall fitness as we ease back into things.
All returning and new girls are welcome and should dress for a workout and bring your stick, some lacrosse balls and your own water bottle!
Return to Play Guidelines
Pinnacle Girls Lacrosse Club acknowledges and takes very seriously the nature of the coronavirus and COVID-19 symptoms that can result. We also believe high school sports and the physical activity, collective effort and camaraderie they encompass are an important part of the physical, social, emotional, and psychological well-being of young women.
With these two beliefs in mind, PGLC is committed to conducting camps, clinics, workouts, and practices in a manner that:
- Minimizes risks of coronavirus exposure for all participants, based on our evolving knowledge of the coronavirus and how it is transmitted.
- Meets or exceeds fast-changing district, local, state and federal mandates.
- Supports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
- Complies with Return to Play standards as defined by U.S. Lacrosse’s 12-person Medical Leadership Advisory Team.
The club has codified this commitment in the linked “PINNACLE GIRLS LACROSSE CLUB OPERATIONS STANDARDS DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC” which all players, participants, parents and family members are expected to adhere to for all PGLC activities, starting this fall. We cannot eliminate the risk of infection and illness, but are committed to doing our best to minimize it while also maximizing the enjoyment and benefits our players and families receive by engaging in PGLC activities.
Please download and read these operating standards with your player as soon as you are able.
Updated PGLC Liability Form
In another sign of the times, the seasonal Liability Waiver all participants sign has been updated to include Covid-related illness and complications. That liability form has also been linked here for your review and signature once PGLC official activities begin.
Virtual Club Rush
Do you know anyone who might be interested in joining the club this year, whether as a freshman or returning player? Have them watch the PGLC video at Virtual Club Rush this week!
At the end there’s a QR code they can snap with their phone that will get them added right away to the team’s Remind group, where we can capture their contact information and welcome them to the club!
More to come as we know it,
