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Brownell Middle School is a proud member of the East Side Athletic League (ESAL) which includes schools from Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose. The ESAL has recently passed COVID-19 protocols that are designed to keep our athletes, coaches, and staff as safe as possible while participating in after-school sports. One of the main goals for our league during the latest stage of this pandemic is to allow students the opportunity to participate in sports as long as it is safe to do so.

With that in mind, a difficult decision had to be made regarding SPECTATORS at our sporting events:

There will be NO SPECTATORS ALLOWED at all INDOOR and OUTDOOR sporting events this year.  That does include parents and family members. This list of sports includes:

• Cross Country
• Softball
• Basketball
• Wrestling
• Volleyball
• Soccer 
• Track & Field

While we understand that most of you will be disappointed you will not be able to watch your child participate in sports this year, the decision was made with the athletes' best interests in mind. With the new variant on the rise, many districts are understandably hesitant in allowing after-school sports for middle schools. With several different districts in the county putting forth varying levels of COVID protocols, it was important that the ESAL produce one set of guidelines to follow for all our member-schools. These guidelines are meant to appease as many schools and districts as possible so that all student-athletes can continue to participate in sports. 

The possibility of cancellation of middle-school sports programs is a real worry to the Athletic Directors in this league. We know how important sports are to children at this age and we need to take action to try to secure the ability for students to continue their participation in sports at this level. As of now, the trade-off is not allowing any spectators at these sporting events. We understand that this is not ideal, but our main goal is to simply let the kids play and compete this year. 

Thank you for your support and understanding.

-Brownell Athletics 

A complete list of COVID-19 Protocols for the East Side Athletic League can be found online.

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