Wyomissing Area School District

ENHANCING YOUR CHILD'S EXPERIENCE

Parents play an important role in the success of the athletic program. By using the three strategies listed below, parents can enhance a child's participation experience.

• Support your child AND their entire athletic program.
• Make your child's sport fun for them, not stressful.
• Keep your child's sports experience in perspective and see how you and they fit into the big picture.

For more information on how to accomplish these strategies, please click on the link below to watch an informative video.

Parenting Your Student Athlete

In addition, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has provided information and resources to help educate you on the importance of proper behavior by parents in school sports. Please click on the link below for a free online course.

The Role of the Parent in Sports

COMMUNICATION WITH COACHES

The Parent/Coach Relationship

Both parenting and coaching are extremely difficult vocations. By establishing an understanding of each position, we are better able to accept the actions of the other and provide greater benefit to children. As parents, when your children become involved in our program, you have a right to understand what expectations are placed on your child. This begins with clear communication from the coach.

Communication You Should Expect From A Coach

• The coach's philosophy.
• The expectations the coach has for your child as well as all the players on the squad.
• The locations/times of all practices & games.
• Any team requirements (i.e. fees, special equipment, off-season conditioning).
• The procedure followed in the event that your child is injured during athletic participation.
• Any discipline that result in the denial of your child's participation.

Communication Coaches Should Expect From Parents

• Concerns expressed directly to the coach.
• Notification of any schedule conflicts well in advance.
• Specific concerns in regard to a coach's philosophy and/or expectations.

As your children become involved in the programs at Wyomissing Area School District, they will experience some of the most rewarding moments of their lives. It is important to understand that there also may be times when things do not go the way you or your child wishes. At these times discussion with the coach is encouraged.

Concerns That Are Appropriate To Discuss With Coaches

• The physical & mental treatment of your child.
• Ways to help your child improve.
• Concerns about your child's behavior.

It is difficult to accept that your child is not playing as much as you may hope. However, coaches are professionals. They make judgment decisions based on what they believe to be best for all students involved. As you have seen from the list above, certain things can be and should be discussed with your child's coach. Other things, such as those in the following paragraph, must be left to the discretion of the coach.

Issues That Are Not Appropriate To Discuss With Coaches

• Playing time
• Team strategy
• Play calling
• Other student-athletes

There are situations that may require a conference between the coach and the parent. These are to be encouraged. It is important that both parties involved have a clear understanding of the other's position. When these conferences are necessary, the following procedure should be followed to help promote a resolution to the issues of concern.

If You Have A Concern To Discuss With A Coach, Please Use The Following Procedure:

• Call to set up an appointment.
• If the coach cannot be reached, call the Athletic Director. The athletic director will set up the meeting for you. The phone number to the Athletic office is (610) 374-4031 x3138.
• Please do not attempt to confront a coach before or after a contest or practice. These can be emotional times for both the parent and the coach. Meetings of this nature do not promote resolution
• Do not circumvent the coach when it comes to expressing concern. The coach should be the first point of contact when an issue develops. 

The Next Step

What can a parent do if the meeting with the coach did not provide a satisfactory resolution?

Call and set up an appointment with the Athletic Director to discuss the situation.

Together, you can determine the appropriate next step.

Since research indicates a student involved in co-curricular activities has a greater chance for success during adulthood, these programs have been established. Many of the character traits required to be a successful participant are exactly those that will promote a successful life after high school. We hope the information provided within the pamphlet makes both your child's and your experience with the Wyomissing Area School District Athletic program less stressful and more enjoyable.

EXPECTATIONS OF A PARENT/GAURDIAN

• Work to promote a positive environment that is conducive to the development of the student-athlete
• Become familiar with and review the rules and regulations of the sport with your student- athlete.
• Communicate any concerns in a timely manner, according to District protocol.
• Treat all coaching personnel with courtesy and respect and insist your student-athlete do the same.
• Encourage your child to communicate his/her concerns in a respectful manner to the coaching staff. Athletes, who do not feel comfortable discussing an inpidual problem with the head coach, may consider talking to an assistant coach. 
• Understand that not all athletes will like their coaches. However, athletes should accept the concept that you can still work with someone towards a common goal, despite your personal feelings towards the inpidual.

Concussion in Sports, What You Need to Know
An elective, free online course aimed at educating coaches, officials, parents and students on the importance of proper concussion recognition and management in high school sports.

Concussion Rule for Football
Updated rule as of March 4, 2010

Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports
A fact sheet on concussions for parents. 

The Wyomissing Area Athletic Department Winter Sports Registration for all students that will be in grades 7 – 12 during the 2024-2025 school year is now open. 

Wyomissing Area High School will be offering free sports physicals on October 23rd at 4:00 PM.  

We encourage students to schedule a physical with their primary care physician, however for those who are unable to get their physicals completed on their own, please use SignUpGenius to schedule a physical appointment.

Appointments are required and will be first come first serve.  You must have all other paperwork completed before scheduling your physical. 

**Once you submit your forms, you can check your PlanetHS account or the team roster on the website to make sure you are cleared** 

**If you already have an account in PlanetHS, please log into your account by going to Wyomissing Spartan website and clicking on the Online Registration tab, and submit your forms for the 2024-25 season.  Please remember to check your message center for any messages from the Athletic Trainers.

**If you do not remember your login or password – please DO NOT create a duplicate account.  Please email kstern@wyoarea.org to have your information reset**

**If this is the FIRST TIME you are creating an account, please continue reading:

Please, before you begin, read both of the attachments. (The Wyomissing Area Kick Off Letter and PHS Parent & Student Getting Started Guide).  This is a new platform and it is important that you are familiar with how it works. 

**You will see 3 tabs when you sign up:  Athletic Forms, Link Accounts and Message Center.  ANY emails or texts that you receive through PlanetHS will be in your Message Center.  If you receive a message, PLEASE login and click on Message Center for your message**

**You can also see if your child is cleared by checking your account.  If all forms are correct, they will say "complete".**

Here are a few important things to note:

1. The online registration “button” is available by going to Wyomissing Spartan or Big Teams
2. BOTH the parent/guardian AND student-athlete MUST create accounts. (1 account for the parent/guardian and 1 account for the student-athlete)
3. Once you create your account, you must link your account with your student-athlete(s) account(s) by either email or cell phone number.
4. Once you are linked with your student-athlete, you will be able to complete all of the required PIAA forms, as well as the required WASD forms.  (the student-athlete can be linked to multiple parent/guardian accounts (example: mom can create her own account and dad can create his own account, using different email address/phone numbers)
5. You will need to print sections 5 (health history) and 6 (physical) and take both of those forms to the doctor in order to receive a physical.  You can scroll to the bottom of your “homepage” after all forms are complete to find Section 5 and Section 6 to print. (These forms have also been attached to the bottom of the page).
6. Once you have the completed physical from the doctor DATED AFTER May 1st, 2024 (section 6), you must login to your Parent/Guardian account and upload the physical ONLY.  (Please do not upload Section 5) You will simply take a picture of the physical with your phone and upload it to the parent account.  

Remember, you will not turn anything into the office; all paperwork should be completed online and the physical form should be uploaded from the Parent/Guardian account.

• Wyomissing Area High School Kick Off Letter
• PHS Parent Student Getting Started
• PIAA Section 5 & 6
• Medication Statement for Students

• Click here for the 2018-2019 Student-Athlete Handbook

Daniel Giesen
Head Athletic Trainer
Phone: 610.374.0739 x3116

Lauren Mieczkowski
Athletic Trainer
Phone: 610.374.0739 x3117

Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines
Practice or competition in hot and/or humid environmental conditions poses special
problems for student-athletes. Heat illness is a primary concern in these conditions.
Although deaths from heat illness are rare, constant surveillance and education are
necessary to prevent heat-related problems.

Core Principles:
1. Acclimatization Period: The first three days of football practice commencing
on the first starting day – Monday, August 12th. Helmets and shoulder pads
with shorts the first 2 days and full gear on third day with contact permitted on
third day.
These practices are limited to 5 hours of practice daily for the 3 days of
heat acclimatization. Practice sessions may be no longer than 3 hours
in length and teams must have 2 hours of rest (recovery period)
between sessions.
If starting the previous week by school option, these days are to be
three consecutive days and are not to be earlier than Wednesday the
previous week – August 7th. Helmets and shoulder pads with shorts
the first 2 days and full gear on third day. No contact on third day
(prior to start date).
If more than 48 hours between the conclusion of the heat
acclimatization program and first day of practice, the program will not
have its intended affect medically. Therefore, these practices are
limited to five hours per day with no contact on the third day since it is
prior to the start of the stipulated fall season.
If starting the previous week option is chosen, Monday’s practice –
August 12th – may be 5 hours with a 2 hours buffer between practices
and contact may be included.
Prevention of Heat Illness from the Sport Medicine Guidelines of the
PIAA Handbook should be observed. These include regular
measurements of environmental conditions. See Sports Medicine
Guidelines for more detail or consult with your athletic trainer and/or
team physician.
2. Scrimmages: A team shall not participate in a scrimmage prior to the first
available scrimmage date as provided in Article XVI: Season and Out-ofSeason Rules and Regulations of the PIAA By-Laws.
3. Participation Limitation: No Team, no individual member or members of
such Team, and no individual representing any PIAA member school, may
Practice or participate in an Inter-School Practice, Scrimmage, Contest,
and/or Open Gym on more than six days in any Calendar Week during the
Regular Season. 
4. Out-of-Season Activities: General conditioning provides only partial heat
acclimatization. Therefore, student-athletes should be exposed gradually to
hot and/or humid environmental conditions to provide better heat
acclimatization. Each exposure also should involve a gradual increase in the
amount of exercise that is undertaken over a period of days to weeks until the
exercise intensity and duration is comparable to that likely to occur in
competition. If conditions are extreme, training or competition should be held
during a cooler time of the day.
When protective gear and clothing is authorized by the school Principal
outside of the defined season, frequent rest periods should be
scheduled so that the gear and clothing can be loosened to allow
evaporation of sweat and other forms of heat loss. During the
acclimatization process, it may be advisable to use a minimum of
protective gear and clothing and to Practice in T-shirts, shorts, socks
and shoes. Excessive tape and outer clothing that restrict sweat
evaporation should be avoided. Rubberized suits should never be
used.
(Definitions for the purpose of these Guidelines)

Minimum Practice Time: The minimum practice time for the first three days
is 3 hours per day.
Maximum Practice Time: The maximum allotted time per day for practice is
5 hours and teams must have 2 hours of rest between sessions.
Practice: The time a player engages in physical activity. It is defined that any
practice session be no greater than three (3) hours in length. Warm-up,
stretching, conditioning, weight training and ‘cool-down’ periods are all
considered practice.
Recovery Period: A minimum of a two (2) hour recovery period must be
provided after any session.
Walk-through: No protective equipment or strenuous activity permitted.
Only balls and field markers (cones) may be used.

For additional information and articles on heat acclimatization, access the links below to
www.pennlive.com and the PIAA Sport Medicine Guidelines section of the PIAA
Handbook at:
http://www.piaa.org/resources/handbook/default.aspx
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/03/piaa_board_of_directors_adopts.html
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/03/piaa_heat_acclimatization_poli.html#incart_flyout_spor
ts
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/03/piaa_heat_acclimatization_poli_1.html  

Common Question & Answers Regarding Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines

How many days must the heat acclimatization program be enforced?
Three days. The first three days of football practice starting with the first day of fall
practice. A school may choose the option of starting the previous week. If this option is
chosen, these days are to be three (3) consecutive days and it is not to start earlier than
Wednesday the previous week – August 7th. Helmets and shoulder pads with shorts the
first 2 days and full gear on third day. No contact on third day (it’s prior to start date).

What is the rationale for not starting heat acclimatization earlier in the week and
giving players 4 days of rest before the official start of practice?
The rationale for this is if there is more than 48 hours between the conclusion of the
heat acclimatization program and first day of practice, the program will not have its
intended affect medically. Therefore, these practices are limited to five hours per day
with no contact on the third day since it is prior to the start of the stipulated fall season.

What are the maximum and minimum time periods for heat acclimatization?
These sessions are limited to 5 hours of practice daily for the 3 days of heat
acclimatization. Practice sessions may be no longer than 3 hours in length and teams
must have 2 hours of rest between sessions. The minimum amount of time for heat
acclimatization is 3 hours per day.

Who is responsible for the development and enforcement of this program?
The head football coach, in consultation with the school’s medical staff (team physician/
athletic training staff), is to develop their own three (3) day program. It is to be
submitted, in writing, to the school’s principal for their approval and supervision. The
enforcement of this will be a team effort between all parties, however, the principal of
the school, as with all PIAA governance, is responsible for the adherence and
enforcement of PIAA rules and regulations.

Do all players have to go through the heat acclimatization?
Yes all players have to go through this process before they represent their school by
playing in a scrimmage or a contest. This is to be monitored by each school.

Is this heat acclimatization program only for football?
Yes it is for football only. The amount of protective equipment that must be worn by
players does not allow for the body to cool off through perspiration in a normal fashion.
Other sports do not have these requirements and coupled with the fact that 52 football
players, 41 in high school, have died since 1995 to heat related causes has raised the
awareness nationally to provide for a pre-season football acclimatization program. 

The Center for  publishes an introduction to concussion basics on their website.  Please click here for the CDC.