All good posts here by lax fans. I was going to withhold comment because I knew nothing about protocols being followed by other teams and leagues. As each of you has stated there will be a lot of uncertainty and we all have to live within the rules being provided or dictated by the States and schools. The season may look a lot like the NCAA football season - a lot of ups and downs for many teams. Will pay to have a lot of depth on your team. I hope we're able to make some lemonade out of the lemons we've been given.HopFan16 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:40 pm If there are non-conference games, I can't imagine Loyola and Hopkins would not play. It'd be ridiculous if two teams that are literally 5 minutes down the street from one another could not figure out a way to make it work. Hopkins, for instance, is going to have a very robust on-campus test and trace system for students, faculty, and staff. Perhaps they offer to extend testing to Loyola student-athletes—if the Hounds do not already meet the Big Ten protocols under which the Hopkins lacrosse program will presumably operate.
Hopkins and Loyola have shared a tremendous amount of information on safety and protocols. In fact both schools have accumulated a lot of data since both schools shut down on campus activities last March. What I do know is that Loyola has comprehensive COVID protocol and guidelines for students and faculty returning to campus based upon lessons learned from other schools since last March. You can find it here. https://www.loyola.edu/department/stude ... oronavirus
Is it going to prevent the spread of the virus? No. But it hopefully represents some common sense and obligations that should be followed and practiced to significantly reduce the transmission of the virus and to somehow coexist with it and return to some sense of normalcy.
From what I've heard from a good source is that the team has to conduct small groups drills (3 on 3) and may get to 6 on 6 prior to UVA game. Yeah, that's not a good practice routine to prepare for a game, but it is what it is. I'll take that over not playing at all. And who knows what happens if a player is exposed and has to self-quarantine and has to report all close contacts. Who knows? There are so many unknowns out there but I do believe Loyola will do its best to give its student athletes an opportunity to engage in competition and concurrently not put its coaches (for any sport), or its players, at risk without first instilling in everyone the duty and responsibility to practice and follow its guidelines. Father Linane wants the students and athletes to have as close as possible a normal semester. The teams will get tested a lot. Contact tracing will be closely followed, etc....
Fans and parents in the stands? Not yet. That depends upon the State of Maryland guidelines. And even if or when the public can get into the game it's probably going to be a lot different. Ridley could space out family and friends and have plenty of distancing with no gatherings sanctioned on school grounds before or after the games. What you do before and after will be up to the family and fans to choose. Until then I only hope that games are live streamed or even recorded for later playback.
Hold on to your seat. It's going to be a wild ride IMO.
