Vikings prepare for uncertain soccer season

DOWNEY — The Downey High School boys’ soccer program began their summer workouts on June 22 and are finishing their fourth week of drills. 

The first week of practice did not include a soccer ball and the last three weeks have included a ball with a little more activity as each week has passed. Players were busy preparing for the start of their 2020-21 winter season. 

Mires mentioned that he has around 100 players attending his summer workouts, including 33 freshmen.

CIF guidelines for soccer, as of June 10, state that soccer can include “conditioning, individual ball skill drills, each player can have their own ball, feet only (no heading/use of hands), no contact.” Coach Mires is remaining on the side of caution while creating and conducting workouts for players to be safe while at the same time, enhancing each players’ abilities.

The Downey boys’ soccer program has been practicing Monday-Thursday on a rotation basis. Mires has the younger players practicing from 8-10 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and has the older players practicing from 8-10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Athletes are wearing face masks as they drill and are maintaining social distancing protocols.

Mires said that these are different times and he is preparing to play until he is told to stop preparing. His players looked excited to be practicing and seemed very engaged in what they were doing. It was great to walk out on the soccer field Wednesday morning and watch an actual practice. 

We have taken such a simple thing for granted as COVID-19 continues to dominate our local and national headlines.