ROCKINGHAM — The sports scene will cool down around Richmond Senior High School this week as a mandated dead period by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association goes into place.
Since the Richmond County Board of Education approved the return of sports at Richmond in early August, eight different athletic programs have returned to voluntary workouts in some capacity.
Players and coaches of the Richmond football, volleyball, cross country, baseball, softball, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys basketball and girls basketball teams have all worked out under the NCHSAA’s COVID-19 guidelines.
The dead period, which runs until Sunday, Nov. 8, will keep all non-fall sports programs off the field. Although this week is a dead week, cross country and volleyball programs across the state will be able to hold their first official days of tryouts beginning Wednesday.
Normally held in the first couple of days of August, tryouts will be for a modified fall sports season. Per the NCHSAA, cross country and volleyball will be the only two sports played during the “fall” season, with swimming and basketball to follow in December.
Jessica Covington and the boys and girls cross country teams will be holding a time 5K run Monday at Hinson Lake in Rockingham, followed by practice days at Richmond on Tuesday and Thursday.
The Lady Raider volleyball team, which began its Snap! Raise fundraiser on Monday, is set to hold tryouts on Wednesday. Head coach Ashleigh Larsen will hold tryouts through the end of the week and return to the court next Monday with her varsity and junior varsity teams made.
The Raider football team will hang its cleats up until the end of January, when head coach Bryan Till and the Raiders will gear up for a regular season beginning in February.
Chris Larsen and the boys and girls soccer teams, along with coach Mike Way and the Lady Raider softball team, will continue with voluntary workouts following the dead period.
