September, 2020
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
My name is Kirk Rotvold, and I am the Falcon Ridge girls’/boys’ tennis coach. I’m very pleased your student has chosen tennis as a co-curricular activity. It’s a life-long sport that teaches sportsmanship, integrity, and athleticism.
Girls Tennis is looking quite different than it has in previous years. See the modified version of Fall sports below. However, I am anticipating a fun Fall Girls Tennis season!
Here’s how to sign your student up for tennis:
· Log onto the FRMS website and go to the Athletics tab.
· Select “Tennis-Girls”
· Complete the following forms and look at the links:
o MyPayments Plus Login (See note below)
o Sports Physicals (informational)
o Sports Physical Form (3yrs) This form needs to be sent to the school nurse. Kim Sikkink Kimberly.sikkink@district196.org NOTE: This form needs to be completed and sent to Ms. Sikkink BEFORE you can complete the MyPayments Plus.
Your student needs to attend one of the two informational meetings and informal practices on Monday/Tuesday, September 21/22 after school in the cafeteria. After the meeting, there will be an informal practice at the tennis courts.
If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 952-431-0017. You can also e-mail me at: kirk.rotvold@district196.org
Sincerely,
Kirk Rotvold
FRMS Tennis Coach
School Counselor
FRMS Fall 2020 Athletics Update
FRMS will offer a modified version of in-house fall sports.
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Fall Season Dates
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Starts: September 21, 2020 and Ends: October 23, 2020
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Sports Offered
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Girls and boys cross country, girls and boys soccer and girls tennis. Volleyball will not be offered at this time.
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Practice Time and Schedule
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3:35 - 4:45
Cohort A students and ISD 196 Digital Academy students with last names starting with A-K will participate on Mondays and Thursdays; Cohort B students and ISD 196 Digital Academy students with last names starting with L-Z will participate on Tuesdays and Fridays. No sessions will be held on Wednesdays.
Please note: practices will not begin until after the ISD 196 Digital Academy students’ end their school day 3:30pm. Students on site will have the option to go home at 2:25pm and then return for practice (if they have their own transportation to return to school) or Cohort A and B students will be in a supervised study hall until practice time.
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Format
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Format will be “In-House” which will include skills development and intrasquad scrimmaging; traveling to other schools in or out of District 196 for competitions will not occur this season.
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Transportation
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Activity buses will depart from FRMS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday at 5:00 pm. Details about activity buses will be available soon.
Parents must pick up students who are not riding the activity buses by 5pm, no exceptions.
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Registration, Fee and Physical
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· Participation fee is $50.
· Current physical must be on file with the school nurse.
· Registration on MyPayment Plus (formerly FeePay) begins on September 8.
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Carita Green carita.green@district196.org 952.431.8761 FRMS Athletic Director
2020-2021 COVID-19 Girls Tennis Guidelines
(Note: This information is adapted from a memo that was sent out to all Fall sports coaches.)
Masks: Masks are required for athletes at all times with the exception of competing in scrimmages or when exercising strenuously. During team meetings, stretching, non-strenuous drills, standing on the sideline during scrimmage, etc. students should have their masks on.
Social Distancing: Locker rooms will be closed. Players are expected to practice in clothes that they wear to school. Students must maintain 6ft apart on the tennis courts. Congregating including but not limited to team huddles is not allowed.
Indoor Practice: Practices will be held outdoors, however if the weather is bad, we can hold practice indoors. Tennis may practice indoors as long as there is enough room to social distance in the gym or cafeteria. Students and coaches must wear masks indoors at all times and must be able to maintain 6ft of distance in between them. If this is not possible, students will need to go home after school.
Sanitize: Players should sanitize their hands before they start practice and when they finish. “Sanitize in/Sanitize out.”
Activity Buses: Practice will end at 4:45 p.m. Activity buses should leave at 5:00 or sooner. If parents decide to pick up players and take them home from practice, they must do so before 5:00.
Tennis and Minnesota Weather
In Minnesota, the weather can be 85 degrees one week and 32 degrees the next week! Tennis players should be prepared to play in a variety of weather conditions. If it’s raining outside at the beginning of practice, the practice will typically be moved indoors to the cafeteria. Practice may end early if it starts to rain toward the end of practice. Otherwise, practices will be held outside regardless of the temperature or wind.
What to Bring to Practice and What to Wear?
Players should bring a tennis racket and a full water bottle to practice each day.
Players should wear good supportive athletic shoes and shorts or long work-out pants with pockets for (holding tennis balls).
What Will Girls Tennis and Practices Look Like This Fall?
Usually, about 60% of FRMS Girls Tennis players are new to the sport. So, we spend time during the first part of our practices working on technique: serving, stroke mechanics, moving your body on the court, etc. During the second half of our practice we typically play team games that help practice those skills and techniques. The games are usually everyone’s favorite part of the practice. Also, during practices, I use the back tennis courts (sport courts) to have players challenge each other to establish rankings. My two main goals of the tennis season are to help players develop their tennis skills and to have to have fun doing it!
