While the start, finish and weekly schedule of summer training regimens for high school programs across the country vary, the one consistency is that every high school program has one.

For players (and their parents) who are already entrenched in the program – rising sophomores and older – they are well in tune to the when and where and how often workouts take place. But for rising freshmen who have never played before, it’s important to take the initiative and find out when they are held, rather than wait only to realize they are over.

Because of varying COVID rules the communication from the varsity football coach to 8th-graders about summer workouts might not have been as effective as in the past. The communication may have come during an in-person meeting in some buildings, virtually in others, or in some cases, might have just been an email that is currently sitting in your spam filter.

If you haven’t heard anything about summer workouts, make it a priority today to get in touch with the head coach. I can almost guarantee you that the dates and times for at least the first few summer workouts have already been set. In fact, in many areas around the country, they’ve probably already commenced.

Questions to ask:

• When, where and how often are the workouts?
• Are rising freshmen eligible to attend?
• Is there any paperwork that must be completed before they participate?
• Are workouts mandatory or not?
• If my child has to miss one, what are excusable absences?
• How do I let you know if they have to miss one?

Before you ask all those questions on the phone or in an email, the first statement you might want to make is: “I’m sorry if I missed the communication, if you are able to send it to me that would be great, and I’ll make sure my child is at the next workout.” That way you are not taking up the coach’s time answering questions they already addressed in person, on a zoom or in an email. Even if you are convinced you never received the information, don’t place blame. That’s not a good first impression in any situation.

Don’t panic if your child has already missed one or more workouts, they’re probably not alone. Just make sure they don’t miss the next one.

Jon Buzby has been involved in and writing about youth sports for the past 30 years with perspectives as a parent, coach and board member. Jon is an award-winning writer and his latest book, “Coaching Kids Made Easier,” is available on Amazon. Send comments or future blog topics you'd like to see to JonBuzby@hotmail.com and follow him @YouthSportsBuzz on Twitter.