Here are answers to many of the Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How does my child sign up to participate? What does he or she need?
A: Your son needs to reach out to the appropriate coach given their school class and be mindful of the schedule for team events such as practices, weightlifting and Summer workouts. In addition, your child will need to complete the athletic clearance process prior to receiving equipment and participating in the first team practice, which is typically in the first week of August.
Q: When do Summer workouts begin?
A: Summer workouts start the week after graduation for sophomores, juniors and seniors and on June TBD for incoming freshmen. See the calendar for all the dates and/or updates for events.
Q: When are tryouts and when does regular season practice start?
A: There are no formal tryouts. Every player who wants to play and has athletic clearance will participate in the program. That said, we do highly recommend that new players, regardless of class year, be in communication with the head coaches and their desire to be on the team.
Q: Our family is on vacation for days in August, can my child still play?
A: Yes, although we recommend for all players to attend all practices throughout the season to ensure their peak physical condition and play readiness. Football is a physical sport that demands that all athletes be in peak condition, which we attain through daily regiments of physical conditioning, skill development activities and weight training. In addition, as with all high school sports, which are competitive in nature, playing time is earned through practice attendance, practice participation, level of effort (both physically & mentally) at practices and other factors, which your player should discuss with their coach. Missing practice(s) will require your player to put in extra effort to catch up to the other players, just as one would if he/she missed a day of school.
Q: What do you do to prevent injuries?
A: We subscribe to a rigorous off season weightlifting schedule for all of our players who are not participating in a Winter or Spring sport. While it is optional. we highly recommend that all players be in attendance on the given days and participate by following that day’s workout regimen to ensure peak physical condition during the season (August through November). Carlmont employs Eric Rado, as the Strength & Conditioning Coach. Coach Rado, as an USA Weight Lifting certified Strength & Conditioning coach, is also a member of our football coaching staff and instructs the players through the technique & movements to ensure proper form and maximum benefit of the exercise. In addition, during our in-season practices, the coaching staff puts very high emphasis on proper tackling form to minimize and ideally eliminate, head contact during practice and game plays. Finally, our football program minimizes physical contact during our weekly practices, as outlined by CIF mandates, to prevent injuries of all types, in particular concussions.
Q: What if my player sustains a concussion? What is the protocol?
A: Carlmont takes the players health and safety very seriously with concussions being the most important injury we stay alert for. We subscribe to the publicized campaign of “When in Doubt, Sit Them Out”, which promotes the idea of abundance of caution with any suspicion of brain injury (concussion). If we witness or suspect for any reason a player may have sustained injury, we immediately pull the player out of the game or practice for immediate evaluation.The Carlmont athletic staff includes a certified trainer who immediately evaluates the player and notifies the parents or guardian of suspicion of injury. If it is determined that the player sustained a concussion, he/she is not allowed to participate in practice or games until cleared by licensed medical doctor, in addition to our athletic trainer clearance for full participation and contact. The Carlmont school administration is notified as are the students teachers who work closely with the student to ensure proper time is given to heal while not falling too far behind required class assignments.
Q: What about other injuries?
A: Unfortunately, other injuries are possible in football and any sport for that matter. Any player who is suspected of injury is removed form participation immediately and evaluated by the coaching staff and the Carlmont athletic trainer. Our athletic trainer will determine the extent and severity of the injury and appropriate course for healing. The player is not allowed back into participation of games and practices until cleared by the Carlmont athletic trainer. She will work with parents to obtain appropriate medical forms to aid in healing and re-introduction to participation. Finally, parents should be mindful of when/where injuries occur and how they apply to school policy.
Q: Is this website the only way to get information about the program? How else do you communicate to parents?
A: Yes, we have a team parent who helps the coaching staff to communicate to the players parents and guardians additional information no disseminated here on this Web site, through our Facebook Group page or through the players themselves. To be included, parents/guardians need to have supplied their email address to receive additional information. Also, the head coaches use Remind, an app that allows for us to send a group text to all players (as subscribers) with information and updates. Parents are encouraged to subscribe to their player’s coach Remind list to also receive the same text messages. Ask your player how to do so or reach out to the appropriate team coach for instructions.