Athletes at Vicksburg and Warren Central high schools who need to get a new physical will have the chance to do it next week.

Vicksburg Warren School District athletic director Preston Nailor said the district has partnered with several local doctors to conduct free physicals for student-athletes entering the eighth through 12th grades on Saturday, June 20.

The physicals will be conducted from 8 a.m. to noon at Warren Central High School.
Nailor said the physicals are primarily for those student-athletes who do not have a current valid physical on file, such as those who have moved into the district into the past year or are now entering the eighth grade.

Any athlete who had a physical after April 1, 2019, is considered to have a current physical and does not need a new one to participate in sports in the 2020-21 school year. Students whose last physical was before April 1, 2019, as well as seventh-grade athletes or those who were in seventh grade last year, will need an updated or new exam.

All athletes attending the June 20 physicals must have a physical form that is available from their coach or can be printed off of the school district’s website at vwsd.org. Students will be scheduled by sport and must wear a face mask.

Nailor said a complete schedule will be released on the school district’s website on Monday.

Nailor said between 600 and 700 athletes had physicals in 2019, but only around 80 need one this year. Because of the limited number of doctors available for this year’s physicals, he encouraged those with pre-existing conditions or who simply want an updated physical to visit their own family physicians.

In the past, the Vicksburg Warren School District has partnered with Merit Health River Region to conduct physicals for all athletes in one massive session each spring, but the plan was scrubbed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nailor said about a half-dozen doctors will be on hand for this smaller session.

“With the number of doctors we have here, we’ll be here all week if we have 600 kids show up,” Nailor said. “We are encouraging those individuals with pre-existing conditions to go see their physician.”

The doctors and clinics performing the physicals include several private physicians as well as Mission Primary Care and Elite Performance and Rehab.

“We’re definitely happy that we’re able to do it. We’ve been doing it for a long time, and the doctors reached out to us to continue it,” Nailor said. “It’s big for the district, because we want to make sure all of our athletes are in adequate shape.”

On June 27, Elite Performance and Rehab will conduct free physicals for athletes at St. Aloysius and Porter’s Chapel Academy from 8 to 11 a.m.

No appointment is necessary and there is no set schedule for each sport, although athletes must have a physical form that is available either from their school or from Elite.

Elite Performance and Rehab is located at 1901 A Mission 66.