MSHSAA’s guidelines for beginning fall sports practices do not limit specific activities in numbers or drills. It states member schools should follow local health department guidelines.

That does not mean practice will look like it has in the past. MSHSAA’s guidelines include a mask mandate for all athletes, coaches, administrators, officials and anyone else at practice. Everyone must be screened and evaluated prior to being allowed into the practice facility.

Every participant must have their own water bottle as hydration carts are not allowed. Should refills be required, the guidelines state “significant consideration must be given in devising plans for refilling personal water containers, if necessary, without contamination from participants.”

Managers are forbidden from refilling personal water bottles for participants and staff.

The only time an athlete, coach, administrator or other personnel at practice should remove their mask is when they “doing strenuous physical activity.”

MSHSAA goes as far as to “strongly recommend, but do not require, that masks or face coverings are used during strenuous physical exertion.”

Hand sanitizer and frequent hand cleansing are recommended at practice. Equipment like bats, gloves and helmets must be wiped down thoroughly between uses. Practice jerseys, like soccer pennies, are not to be shared.