McALLEN — Both the Texas Girls Coaches Association and the Texas High School Coaches Association have announced that they intend to cancel their respective in-person summer clinic and conference.
The TGCA Coaches Clinic was originally scheduled for July 6-9 in Arlington, while the THSCA Coaching School and Conference was slated for July 19-21 in San Antonio. Both organizations will instead shift to digital-only formats for this summer’s events.
“Due to new guidelines set by the Governor of the State of Texas, the UIL shutdown of all UIL activities until July 13, the statement issued by the Texas Medical Association addressing indoor meetings, and the concerns of the school administrators in our great state, the TGCA feels it is best, at this time, to allow our member coaches to access concussion training, UIL CCP Certification, professional development, and specific sports skill training in a virtual setting. The 2020 TGCA Virtual Clinic will be available to all current member coaches who have also registered and paid for Summer Clinic,” TGCA Executive Director Sam Tipton said in a written statement released from the organization’s Austin office Friday.
“The virtual clinic will start on July 15, 2020, and be available until September 1, 2020. The health and safety of the coaches and student/athletes has always been the major concern of the Texas Girls Coaches Association. More information regarding the virtual clinic will be forthcoming in the next few days.
The 2020 TGCA Virtual Clinic will begin July 15 and remain available as an online resource until Sept. 1.
“After careful consultation with our Board of Directors and with due regard to the increased uncertainty of the COVID-19 climate in San Antonio, we will be cancelling the in-person 2020 THSCA Coaching School and Convention and will be moving the convention to an entirely Virtual format instead. We had hoped for a decrease in the spread of the coronavirus as we neared the convention date but the situation has evolved rapidly and we are committed to do our part to protect our attendees, sponsors, vendors and staff,” said Sheryl HoneyCutt, the THSCA director of administration, in a written statement released from the organizations San Marcos office Monday afternoon.
“This is an enormous disappointment and not a decision we have taken lightly. THSCA’s Coaching School and Convention is the biggest event of the year for the association and it is our favorite way to celebrate high school coaches from all over the state with educational lectures, fellowship, and many other events. It was a tough call to make but in our efforts to support the preventative protocols set forth by our Texas school administrators, the UIL Executive Staff and governing authorities at both state and local levels, we are choosing to prioritize health and safety first.”
The news comes after close collaboration with officials from the University Interscholastic League, which recommended last week that member schools pause summer strength and conditioning programs as well as other school-sponsored extracurricular from July 3-12 before resuming July 13 to curb the spread of COVID-19 in local communities around the July 4th holiday weekend.
“For schools in areas experiencing community spread of COVID-19, this temporary suspension will reduce the risk of exposure and provide an opportunity to review current plans and re-evaluate local context in order to make informed decisions moving forward. UIL will continue to work with state officials and monitor CDC and other federal guidelines to determine any potential modifications to UIL summer guidelines,” the organization said in a statement released Tuesday, July 1.
Together, the THSCA and UIL elected to rescind the “dead dates” of July 20-21 and reschedule the coaching school agenda in order to allow programs throughout the state to more easily resume their summer strength and conditioning programs.
“We will still host Coaching School, July 19-21, but have intentionally consolidated the content to the afternoon each day, in an effort to help coaches balance valuable time with athletes and an opportunity to obtain skills and knowledge through coaches education,” Honeycutt said in a written statement released by the THSCA.
“Those who register for Coaching School will be granted access to all sport-specific and professional development lectures, all mandatory UIL CCP courses, panel discussions, the THSCA Head Coaching Academy, and THSCA Regional & General Meeting broadcasts. Upon the conclusion of Coaching School, all registrants will receive an emailed certificate for 15-hours of Continuing Professional Education Hours from a TEA Accredited Entity.”
The THSCA Virtual Coaching School will also provide coaches and administrators access to its virtual trade show platform, career center and hold virtual team meetings from home. Additionally, the THSCA will be making free online tackle training certification from Atavus available from noon to 5 p.m. on July 21.
Only interested coaches who contact the THSCA before July 21 to reserve their spots will have guaranteed access.