The 67th Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl has been canceled. 
I genuinely appreciate the Board of Governors’ invitation to their meeting and affording me the opportunity to share some thoughts on how we may have been able to make changes allowing us to play.
In the end, the financial burden, health risks, and volunteer time to transition and incorporate changes needed to follow the emergency health guidelines made it an easy decision for the board. While the Board of Governors would have truly enjoyed hosting and presenting the 2020 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, their rationale and desire to safeguard the players, families, and communities was clear.
Plans are in place to bring the Vermont team together in an outdoor environment to recognize them and give them their Shrine football jerseys. While they will never play in the Shrine game, they will always be Shrine players. They join an elite fraternity of the best who ever played the game in the Green Mountain State. They would have been a great team and a formidable opponent for our friends in the Granite State.
As we discussed in last week’s blog post, the species that is most adaptable to change is the one with the greatest chance of survival. I’m confident these young men will indeed adapt to the changes we face, and find ways to thrive while representing their teams, towns, and families in the coming months.
Coach Rich Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
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