CIF Public Census Data

OUSD has a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, immigration status, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.

OUSD accommodates the interests and abilities in athletics of both sexes by any one of the following means:

(a)Opportunities for interscholastic-level participation for male and female students are substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments. (EC § 230[d][1])

(b)The history of the program and continuing practice of expansion are responsive to the developing interest and abilities of members of the sex that has been and is underrepresented among interscholastic athletes. (EC § 230[d][2])

(c)Interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex have been fully and effectively accommodated by the present program. (EC § 230[d][3])

Athletes Bill of Rights--click here

Athletic Director
Rene Nakao-Mauch, Rnakaomauch@ojaiusd.org  (805) 640-4343 ext. 1770

Athletic Secretary

Marissa Vasquez, marissa.vasquez@ojaiusd.org (805) 640-4343 ext. 1764

Athletic Administrator
Marshall Webb, mwebb@ojaiusd.org (805) 640-4343 ext. 1761

Parents must complete and sign the top portion of the physical form before the student will be seen. 

Print Sports Physical Form in English in Spanish

Sports Calendar
Teams
Athletic Philosophy and Guidelines
Use of Private Vehicles
Physical Exams, Insurance, Emergency Treatment Release
Student-Athlete Attendance Policy PDF
Athletic Handbook for Parents and Students PDF
How to register online?
Go To AthleticClearance.com

The petition below is intended for student-athlete/artists who possess a GPA of 4.0 or higher, are enrolled in multiple programs whose practices may conflict, or have employment conflicts.

Nordhoff Petition for No Credit

The petition below is intended for student-athlete/artists who did not earn the required quarterly 2.0 GPA to participate in athletic competition and/or artistic performances.

Nordhoff Academic Probation Petition

Cross Country - Boys & Girls Varsity, Junior Varsity
Water Polo, Boys - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Football - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Cheer - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Golf, Girls - Varsity
Volleyball, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity, Frosh/Soph
Tennis, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity

Basketball, Boys - Varsity, Junior Varsity, Frosh/Soph
Basketball, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Soccer, Boys & Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity www.nordhoffsoccer.org
Water Polo, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Wrestling, Boys, Girls – Varsity, Junior Varsity

Competitive Cheer - Varsity

Baseball - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Softball - Varsity
Tennis, Mens - Varsity
Golf, Boys - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Swimming, Boys, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity
Track, Boys, Girls - Varsity, Junior Varsity,Frosh/Soph
Volleyball, Boys - Varsity, Junior Varsity

Lacrosse, Girls - Varsity

Nordhoff High School prioritizes academics and citizenship over athletics. Nordhoff believes athletics can play an integral part of a high school student’s overall development, and Nordhoff strongly encourages the participation of all students with interest in a particular sport. Nordhoff strives to use athletics as a means of promoting the valuing of teamwork, good sportsmanship, communication, time management, pride in accomplishments, goal-setting and camaraderie. Nordhoff’s student-athletes represent all of Nordhoff High School and the Ojai community in very public ways that non-student athletes do not, and therefore they are held to a higher standard of behavior. It is a privilege to represent Nordhoff High School as a student-athlete; it not an educational right of any student to be a member of a Nordhoff athletic team.

Any Nordhoff student who is eligible for athletic participation by virtue of grades, citizenship, residence, and age as outlined by the CIF Blue Book and who meets all of Nordhoff’s Academic and Attendance criteria, is strongly encouraged to try out for any sport offered by the school. Only full-time (defined below) Nordhoff students may represent the school and participate in Nordhoff athletics. Nordhoff administration may remove a student-athlete from any athletic team if it is deemed the student-athlete is not representing the school, our teachers, our student body and the Ojai community well at any point in the season for any reason.

I. CIF Eligibility - All Nordhoff student-athletes must meet all minimum CIF eligibility criteria as stated by the CIF Blue Book. The CIF Blue Book can be accessed online here 

II. All of the following Nordhoff Academic Eligibility Criteria Must Be Met:

1. Minimum of a 2.0 GPA from the preceding quarter (trimester for incoming Freshmen)
   

   1. GPA’s checked quarterly on designated “eligibility check” days

   2. Student-athletes shall not participate in games until quarter grades make them eligible at the designated eligibility check the following quarter

   3. Academically ineligible student-athletes may practice with team with coaches’ approval

2. For all classroom disciplinary referrals, student-athletes shall miss, at minimum, the next scheduled contest after the incident which caused the referral, which may be the same day of the referral.

3. For all school-based suspensions, the student-athlete shall miss, at minimum, the next scheduled contest after the incident which caused the suspension, which may be the same day, and all practices during the suspension period. Depending on the nature of the suspension, as with all other forms of school-based violations, the student-athlete may be removed from the team for the duration of the season regardless of whether or not the incident which caused the suspension is related to athletics (e.g., academic dishonesty, prohibited substance violation, bullying/harassment, etc.)

4. A student-athlete must be enrolled in a full schedule of academic classes, which means no less than four Nordhoff on-track for graduation classes during the period 1-6 day. Depending on the grade level of the student and other factors, the number of periods which constitutes a “full schedule” is determined by Nordhoff administration.

5. Student-athletes must maintain at least 60 citizenship points in order to compete in any athletic contest. Citizenship points are updated regularly by the Athletic Director and can be checked on StudentConnnect/ParentConnect.

NOTE: Nordhoff enforces these minimum academic eligibility standards for athletics participation. Coaches may set higher, additional standards for participation in contests.

III. All of the following Nordhoff Attendance Eligibility Criteria Must Be Met:

1. Student-athletes who are absent for any class period of the day of an athletic contest shall not be allowed to participate in that contest unless prior arrangements are made with the Athletic Director or Dean of Student Services (not the coach). Parents must strive to avoid scheduling doctor/dentist appointments during the school day. If it cannot be avoided, and the student will miss more than 1/3 of the school day, parents must contact the Dean of Student Services or the Athletic Director with the student athlete's name, sport, date, time of appointment, and expected time of return to school at least 24 hours in advance. The Athletic Director will strive to notify the coaches and student-athletes regarding decisions for eligibility/ineligibility prior to the start of the contest. But if it is not possible, the ineligible student-athlete may be removed from the contest at any point.

2. Student-athletes must be present for at least 2/3 of their school day in order to be eligible to practice. The portion of the day missed must be for a legally excusable absence, which means for reasons other than illness or “personal”. For example, the student-athlete may not be truant for two classes and attend the rest of the day, miss class for buying a prom dress and then attend practice. The athletic director will notify the coach if a student-athlete is ineligible for practice.

3. Student-athletes are expected to attend every practice and contest of their athletic season, particularly if PE credit and grades are issued unless prior authorization is granted by the Athletic Director. Failure to communicate with coaches/Athletic Director about absences from practices/contests during the season of sport may result in removal from the team, variable PE credit and/or a failing grade.

NOTE: Four semesters (20 credits) of PE and passing four of six components on the California State Physical Fitness Test are required for graduation by the State of California. Successful completion of a single athletics season with a passing grade is the equivalent of one semester of PE (5 credits). Variable credits for an incomplete season are typically not given, but may be at the discretion of the Athletic Director.

This policy is designed to assure school personnel and parents that student-athletes transported in private vehicles are done so safely, in sound vehicles, driven by competent, insured and licensed drivers.

Before private vehicles may be used to transport any student-athlete to/from school/home to an athletic contest, the driver of the vehicle must complete and sign the OUSD-approved “Parent Driver Packet” and return it to the Athletic Department for approval. No driver is authorized until expressed approval by the Dean of Student Services has been given. The approval is valid for the current school year only, or until the expiration of insurance or driver’s license occurs, whichever comes first.

Nordhoff Administration shall deny any person authorization who... :

1. Does not possess a valid driver’s license

2. Does not have automobile liability insurance that meets minimum OUSD requirements, which are greater than the State of California minimum requirements (see OUSD Parent Driver Packet for details.

3. Is insured as an “assigned risk”

4. Takes medication or has a physical condition that could affect driving safety

5. Is less than 21 years of age

6. Is deemed unfit for any other reason that Nordhoff Administration believes may compromise student-athlete transportation safety

The Athletic Department will evaluate the answers provided by the applicant driver and Nordhoff Administration will sign the form indicating approval of volunteer driver.

NOTE: Under no circumstances shall a private vehicle be permitted to transport more than seven (7) passengers plus the driver, or more than (1) handicapped person confined to a wheelchair or more than the number of persons for which the vehicle has working safety belts.

Student-athletes are required to return from away contests in the same vehicle and with the same authorized driver that transported them to the contest unless otherwise expressly permitted by the Athletic Director or Dean of Student Services (not the coach). Parents may complete a written form requesting authorization from Nordhoff Administration allowing their child to be transported home from an athletic contest by another parent driver or by themselves during a season. This authorization request form must be submitted and approved in advance of any away contest, with sufficient time for review. Authorizations are valid for the remainder of the school year or until revoked by either the parent or Nordhoff Administration.

Any student-athlete that is transported home from an away contest by an unauthorized driver or vehicle will be disciplined, which very likely will result in immediate removal from the team.

1. No student-athlete shall be allowed to practice, attend tryouts, be issued any equipment or uniform until they have registered completely with AthleticClearance.com, and have successfully submitted the signed confirmation page, along with their physical to the Athletic Department.

2. The Athletic Director will arrange for team physicals in May for the following school year. These physicals are valid from May through the last day of school of the following school year. Student-athletes who do not participate in these school-provided physicals must arrange for examinations by their own physician, which must be either with a medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) - official records must be provided. The physical will be considered valid for 365 days from the date provided by the doctor.

3. Coaches must have emergency treatment releases, either digitally or on paper, in their possession during all athletic contests, both home and away, as well as for all practices.

1. An athlete must report all injuries to the coach.

2. The coach must notify parents/guardians of any injury they believe may require medical attention, including but not limited to broken bones, suspected concussion, allergic reactions, breathing issues, etc.

3. Coaches will report all injuries to the Athletic Director, and the Athletic Director determines whether or not the injury requires a Return-To-Play authorization.

4. Any student-athlete who is diagnosed by a physician/doctor with a concussion must follow the CIF Return-To-Play.

5. All Return-To-Play releases must be submitted to the Athletic Secretary and processed by the Athletic Director or Dean of Students before the athlete may resume practices and/or competition.

Nordhoff’s Classroom-Based, Disciplinary Referral Policy

First Referral – The teacher will contact the parent, and the student will be counseled by an administrator. The minimum consequence for a student-athlete, including for Academic Honesty violations, shall be one contest missed. Student-athlete may be removed from the team independent of eligibility.

Second Referral – The teacher will contact the parent and a conference with the parent, student, teacher and administrator will be held. The minimum consequence for a student-athlete, including Academic Honesty violations, shall be one contest missed. Student-athlete may be removed from the team.

Third Referral – The teacher will contact the parent and the administration may hold a conference or IEP with the teacher, parent, and student to determine an appropriate alternative placement for the student. Upon teacher discretion, a student may be dropped from the class with an F for the semester, which may result in a student-athlete’s removal from a team due to ineligibility. The minimum consequence for a student-athlete shall be one contest missed. The student-athlete may be removed from the team independent of eligibility.

Student-athletes that are suspended for classroom/school-based (non-athletic) incidents may be given athletic consequences in addition to their suspension from school, and they may be removed from their athletic team. Student-athletes who are suspended as students or as athletes may not attend practices or contests as spectators.

Student-athletes must avoid any kind of social media post, pictorial or textual, that disparages, embarrasses or harasses faculty and staff members, athletic teams, artistic/performance groups, coaches, fans, referees, athletic opponents, and other students (e.g., teammates, student-athletes of other schools, teams, etc.). Student-athletes’ digital communication, posts, etc. must not reflect poorly on Nordhoff High School in any way. Student-athletes must be especially aware that as a result of their participation in Nordhoff athletics, they have a high public profile (i.e., the public nature of athletic contests and performances, Nordhoff insignia on uniforms) and thus their digital behavior will experience more scrutiny. Any pictures of students in Nordhoff uniforms or in any clothing with Nordhoff letters/logos should be carefully evaluated for appropriateness prior to posting.

Failure to exercise good judgment and any violation of this policy will result in immediate disciplinary action. Depending on the severity of the infraction, consequences range from an in-house suspension, suspension from school, suspension from one or more athletic contests and/or lowering of athletic class grades, to immediate removal from a team. All cases will be reviewed individually by Nordhoff Administration.

Any student-athlete ejected by a referee from a contest, according to CIF rules, must do the following in order to return to competition:

1. A mandatory parent and player meeting with the Athletic Director and/or Dean of Students

2. A mandatory minimum of a one-game suspension; Nordhoff Administration may remove the student-athlete from the team depending on the severity of the infraction even if it is a first ejection for the student-athlete

3. Second violation will result in automatic/immediate removal from the team

1. Student-athletes and coaches must show respect to all school personnel, officials, players and fans, and are expected to display excellent sportsmanship at all times. Inappropriate behavior including but not limited to temper tantrums, foul language, obscene gestures, throwing equipment, baiting opponents, cheating of any kind, etc. will not be tolerated. Disciplinary action, including possible removal from the team, will be determined by Nordhoff Administration.

2. All coaches and student-athletes regardless of age may not use any tobacco products of any kind, smokeless/vaping/e-cigarettes included, at any time on campus, on any practice location or at away contests.

3. Student-athletes may not use illegal substances, including but not limited to alcohol, drugs and steroids at any time in any place. Violations may result in immediate removal from the team.

4. As a condition of membership in the CIF, all schools shall adopt policies prohibiting the use and abuse of androgenic/anabolic steroids. All member schools shall have participating students and their parents, legal guardian/caregiver agree that the athlete will not use steroids without the written prescription of a fully licensed physician (as recognized by the AMA) to treat a medical condition (Article 523). By signing below, both the participating student-athletes and the parents, legal guardian/caregiver hereby agree that the student shall not use androgenic/anabolic steroids without the written prescription of a fully licensed physician (as recognized by the AMA) to treat a medical condition. We recognize that under CIF Bylaw 202, there could be penalties for false or fraudulent information. We also understand that the Nordhoff High School policy regarding the use of illegal drugs will be enforced for any violations of these rules.

5. Student-athletes will dress in accordance with school rules, Athletic Director’s mandates and coaches’ requests at all times when acting as a team member.

1. Parents and spectators must display excellent sportsmanship. Spectators must respect players, coaches and officials.

2. Parents and spectators shall cheer for their team, not against opponents. Booing is prohibited, whether it be directed towards coaches, players, officials or opposing fans, as is calling out or talking to specific players on opposing teams.

3. Parents and spectators must help provide a safe and fun athletic competitive environment; throwing any items onto the court, field of play, pool, etc. or surrounding area can cause injury to players and officials and will not be tolerated.

4. Support the referees and coaches by trusting their judgment and integrity.

5. Be responsible for your own safety – be aware of potential hazards of the game

6. Respect locker rooms as private areas for players, coaches and officials.

7. Be supportive after the game – win or lose. Recognize and praise good effort, teamwork, and sportsmanship of both teams.

NOTE: High School contests are not public events. They are controlled by the High School and therefore Nordhoff Administration has the right to remove any spectator from a contest, and any spectator may be prohibited from attending a contest in the future for any violation.

Athletic Clearances are required for all students who wish to try out for any sport, Marching Band and/or color guard, OR combination thereof, during the course of the school year. The “clearance” refers to a student’s desire and physical ability to participate in their sport/activity of choice, as well as permissions and releases from their parents to do so. Nordhoff has transitioned to processing our Athletic Clearances through CIF Home-Campus, which utilizes AthleticClearance.com as a parent portal to securely provide their student information. Please note this is a FREE service to all students and their families, and works best with Google Chrome.

Student athletes and marching band/color guard members can be registered online beginning June 1st for the following school year. Most information will be requested during the online registration process, but a few forms must still be printed and completed. Online registration should take approximately less than 15 minutes. Once all information has been submitted, our Athletic & Music Departments will review the data and “clear” the student for participation in their sport/activity. You will only need to complete the registration ONCE each year, which will cover all sports/activities of your student’s choice.

To begin online registration, go to AthleticClearance.com and register for an account. If needed, select the appropriate language at the top of the page.

Once your parent account is registered, select CLEARANCES at the top of the page, then select START CLEARANCE HERE! Complete all of the information requested. Register your student for the subsequent school year, and the first sport in which they will participate. When entering your student’s grade level, please remember to select the grade they will be in during the school year.

At the end of Step #1, Student Info, be sure to click DOWNLOAD PHYSICAL FORM, print it and have it ready for your student’s scheduled physical. This is the only form that will be accepted as a sports physical from your child’s physician. If a copy of this form is attached to these instruction, you may use this copy, instead of printing again.

Complete all of the information requested and provide electronic signatures from both yourself and your student. After signatures are submitted, you will have the OPTION of making a donation of any amount. This is not required, and you may skip to the Confirmation page.

The confirmation page summarizes the authorizations and limits of liability provided to both parents and school administrators. There is also a link in the body of the Confirmation to print a Parent Driver Packet. Being a Parent Volunteer and/or Driver is optional, but if you choose to be available to support the transportation needs of your student’s events/activities, these forms must be completed and turned into our Athletics office before the scheduled events.

You will have the option of registering your student for additional sports/activities at the bottom of the Confirmation page. Click the box for any additional sports/activities for which you wish to register your student, skipping the one chosen at the beginning of this registration process. Also, click the box acknowledging your electronic signature will be applied to additional clearances. Then, select SUBMIT. If you do not select SUBMIT, your student’s information will not be submitted for the school to review.

You have the option of selecting a Printer Friendly Version of the Confirmation Page on this screen. You may either print this version or the emailed confirmation, which must be signed in ink by both parents and the student. This confirmation must be returned to May Magana, in the Nordhoff Athletic Dept., along with the student’s completed physical, before the student may participate in any practices, games, or tryouts.

If you have more than one student to register for sports/activities, you will have the option to do so after the first student’s Confirmation page is submitted.

At the top of the screen, you may select “Start Clearance Here!” to add an additional student. If the parent information is the same you can select the parent/guardian from a dropdown menu which will autofill that page.

All medical information, electronic signatures, printed Physical Forms and Confirmation pages must be submitted for each student separately.

Sports Physicals are required from all athletes and Marching Band/Color Guard members before they may participate in any practices (including summer practices), tryouts, or games. Physicals are valid for one school year only. Athletes and physicians MUST use the form supplied by Nordhoff; no other form or letter will be accepted.

Physicals may be scanned and uploaded to your AthleticClearance.com account, or you can drop them off to Marissa Vasquez, Athletic Secretary, in the Nordhoff Office. The Nordhoff office will be closed from July 1st through July 20th, so please make sure your Confirmation Page Signatures are submitted before scheduled practices begin.