Update #01: Wednesday, June 10, 2020

MAST Update 1  - Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Dear MAST Athletes, Parents and Coaches:
Three months have passed since we celebrated the hard work and success of our 131 athletes and the 20th anniversary of MAST at our annual banquet.  My how our lives and world have changed in this short period of time.  Given the ever-present threat of Covid-19 and the terrible tragedy of events that have unfolded these past two weeks it takes some effort to push forward and begin planning for the upcoming 2020-21 alpine season.  If we are going to have a ski racing season next winter preparation and planning must begin now.  
 
I. Banquet Kudos
I would like to say THANK YOU to all who made the banquet a huge success!   Thank you to Sabena Svedahl who chaired the festivities and consequently suffered through the details. Thank you to Susan Peterson and Michelle Smith who found so many ways to honor our athletes with their creativity and artistry.  Thank you to Christine Smalley and Kelly Bent for the extra special efforts to acknowledge and celebrate the 20th anniversary!  Thank you to all who volunteered with set up, serving, clean up. Thank you to the coaches who put tremendous thought and effort into planning the program.  Thank you to Matt Arbeiter for your leadership across the 2019-2020 season!  And THANK YOU Athletes for being terrific human beings.   Each and every one of you is a joy to coach.  
 
II. Summer Strength and Conditioning Program
We will be offering a Summer Strength and Conditioning Program.  It begins Monday, June 15th.  Unfortunately, we will be offering it remotely.   Here is how it will work.
 
Starting on Monday, June 15, Daniel and I will be sending you THREE workouts that you can do during the week either on your own or with a small group of your friends (provided you maintain proper social distance from one another).   We will send you the workouts with both written instructions and video demonstrations via  Instagram and YouTube.  We support any parents who do not want their athlete to have an Instagram account on their phone, so athletes, do not use this as an excuse to beg them for one.   Both accounts will be private so you will need to subscribe.   I will send you instructions on how to subscribe over the weekend.   The workouts will change weekly.  You will need to have quality shoes for running, jumping, and cutting.   You might need some sidewalk chalk for some workouts, and maybe dig through your closet for that jump rope you still have from grade school gym class.  Some of the workouts will require you to use a jump rope or create a speed ladder.  The captains are also working on creating a way for you to track and share your workouts with the coaches and the rest of the team.  They are also thinking up ways to make this fun and social even though we can’t gather as one large group.  Stay tuned.
 
For now, if you would like to participate in the MAST Summer Strength and Conditioning Program, you need to register.  Click here.
 
Be sure to fill out all the parts of the form and click on the submit button at the bottom of the page. Please register by the end of the weekend. If you don’t register, you will not be able to see the workouts The program will run from June 15 to the start of school. We will send you an email about how to access the program sometime on Sunday.
 
III. Planning Amidst Coronavirus
Planning for the 2020-21 season has begun in earnest.  We plan for next season knowing that the pandemic is far from over and whatever plans we set could very well change.  Many questions remain unanswerable today.  Will we be able to ride a bus together?   Will we need to limit the number of participants at a given practice?  Can we share a cabin at Camp Chicagami?   Sit down at a table together indoors?
 
With the State Fair cancelled, we have lost a significant team fundraising and bonding experience.   We still hope to hold the ice cream social at Beards’, equipment swap, tuning sessions, parent party, etc.   We have been building the calendar as though everything is normal.  We will adapt, amend, and cancel as needed. Keeping you and your family healthy is our first priority.  
 
IV. Immediate Volunteer Help Needed
We need your (parent) help.  We have several volunteer roles to fill due to graduation. We also have one very important task force to get up and running.  Please consider getting involved if you are not already.
 
A. Covid Advisory Task Force 
We are calling upon the MAST community to create a task force that will be responsible for monitoring, communicating, and implementing any Covid related guidelines that are generated at the State, City or School District levels.  Please reach out to Jodi if you would like to be part of this group. Everyone is qualified!  We would like to this task force up and running very quickly.
 
B. Webmaster/Web Administration.
The MAST Website is an important source of information both during and out of season.   We use a platform called Weebly that is relatively easy to learn.  We could use one, two or three people to help maintain the website with up to date information, photos, forms, etc.  
 
C. Fundraising
We need volunteers to help develop, lead, and/or assist with our team’s fundraising efforts.   We especially need help developing a sponsorship program, pursuing grants, and managing specific fundraising events.  Please contact Jodi or Mark Conway  if you would like to learn more about how you can help. 
 
As the season approaches a full list of open positions will be posted on the MAST website and announced in subsequent MAST Updates.
 
I will miss meeting with you in person this summer.  Should the pandemic subside over the summer, and if MPS allows, we will consider returning to in person training sessions.  For now, we need to dig deep and find other ways to support each other.
 
Best wishes,
Mark Conway
612-275-8392