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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2020)
PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, AUGUST 14, 2020 2021 BRONCO SUMMER SALE EVENT RESERVE YOURS NOW 0% APR FOR 72 MONTHS ON ALL* 2020 FORD F-150 AND ALL 2020 SUVS 3555 River Road N, Keizer (503) 463- 4853 www.skylineforddirect.com Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. Not available on F-150 Raptor. Residency restrictions apply. See dealer for qualifications and complete details. QUALIFIED BUYERS FINANCING THROUGH FORD CREDIT * KEIZERTIMES.COM Salazar accepted to Barcelona Soccer Academy File Alex Salazar moves the ball upfi eld at McNary’s Blue Day event last year. Salazar will be leaving McNary to go the Barcelona Soccer Academy in Arizona. BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Coming in to the 2020- 21 school year, it appeared that Alex Salazar would be the main star on the McNary boys’ soccer team. However, Salazar was re- cently granted an once-in-a- lifetime opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. Salazar will forego his se- nior season at McNary to join the Barcelona Soccer Academy for the next two years in Casa Grande, Ari- zona — a full-time residen- tial academy program that is partnered with Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona, one of the best professional teams in the world. “I am so proud of Alex. I am really excited for him to start this new soccer adven- ture in his life. Also, I am ex- cited for his mom and family because they are Alex's in- strumental support. Alex has worked hard all these years in club and high school, he de- serves this opportunity and hopefully some day in the near future he can achieve his goal to make it to the pro level,” McNary head coach Miguel Camarena said. Salazar was swimming at a lake when he got the call from his mom about being accepted into the academy. He was speechless when he found out. For a kid that used to run around playing soccer non- stop with his dad at the age of fi ve, this was a surreal mo- ment for Salazar. “I had no words. I couldn’t believe it. Getting accepted is a dream come true,” Salazar said. “I feel like this could be the start of something spe- cial.” Student-athletes at the academy will get the op- portunity to compete at the highest levels within the MLS Elite Youth Develop- ment Platform. They will also will reside at the Grande Sports World campus, which features on-site dormitories, eight soccer fi elds, profes- sional nutritional program- ming and a 58,000 square foot athletic training facili- ty — which was named the best training facility by USA Soccer for three straight years. The facility also includes a lounge area equipped with TVs, gaming systems, ping- pong, and pool tables, hot Please see SOCCER, Page A10 OSAA puts the fall sports season on hold BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes During a “normal” year, student-athletes across the state would be preparing to gear up for the fall sports sea- son. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) to call an audible on how they would proceed with athletics and activities for the 2020-21 school year. After announcing in July that they would delay the start of fall sports, the OSAA executive board made the decision on Wednesday, Aug. 5 to condense all sports sea- sons and to shift the fall sea- son into March as a part of the new 2020-21 athletics calendar. Under this new regime, the OSAA will still hold three distinct athletic seasons. However, there won’t be any prep sporting events played until January 2021. The winter sports season is scheduled to run from Jan. 11 to March 7, while the sea- sonal fall sports (football, vol- leyball, soccer, cross country) will be played from March 15 to May 9. Spring sports will take place from May 3 to June 27 — all sports and activities will be predicated on guid- ance from Oregon Health Authority (OHA), as well as Governor Kate Brown. The OSAA association year will begin on Aug. 31. From then until Dec. 27, the permission of sports and activities will not be desig- nated by the OSAA. Instead they will be at the discretion of local school districts, pro- vided they are allowed by the Governor’s Offi ce, Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and OHA — mean- ing that teams could poten- tially hold limited practices and workouts during this time, which is designated as Season 1 by OSAA. By delaying the start of the athletics season, the OSAA is hoping that more member schools will have a chance to compete. “I applaud the effort from the board of directors for be- ing able to shift to this model. The goal is to get kids par- ticipating in extracurricular activities and this plan gives us the best opportunity to do that,” said McNary athletic director Scott Gragg. In late-July, the OSAA was still planning on having an abbreviated fall sports season (minus football). But after Brown announced the met- rics school districts would have to abide by in order to return to in-person classes, File Please see OSAA, Page A10 McNary’s Luke Ellis competes in a cross country race at Bush Park in a meet from last season.
