June is here, and so are summer workouts

The Kansas State High School Activities Association has turned the page on the 2019-20 season, and the 2020-21 season is already underway for most teams in Southwestern Kansas.

While a handful of teams won't start conditioning drills until next month, nearly every school in the area opened up for voluntary conditioning and weight training on Monday, the first day schools were permitted to do so since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region.

KSHSAA announced in May that the decision to begin in-person workouts and to use school facilities would be made at a local level, by county health officials and local school boards and administration.

A handful of programs are opting to wait to open conditioning and team workouts until July, but individual workouts for the athletes from those teams are likely happening at school facilities.

Other states have taken similar measures since the coronavirus pandemic brought high school sports to a halt in March.

Oklahoma opened up summer conditioning without restrictions on June 1, while Colorado allowed in-person workouts with coaches on a small-number basis to begin this week as well. Texas opted for a similar strategy.

Iowa became the first state in the country to fully open up high school sports on Monday, announcing that it will have a baseball and softball season this summer. Iowa is one of a few states which has sanctioned events during the summer.

Montana and Wyoming both began their American Legion baseball seasons just last week, and each plans on having a state tournament in August. It should be noted that the Montana High School Association does not sponsor any baseball championship for its schools, with American Legion baseball being one of the alternatives.