As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, many parents are trying to navigate on their own what this means for their child playing sports. Project Play is here to help. While some questions are best answered by public health experts based on local conditions, there are guidelines and best practices that are very useful. We will periodically answer youth sports parents’ questions in this Project Play Parent Mailbag. Got a question? Submit it in the space on the right side of this page or email jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
Should we be allowing kids to play indoor sports? If so, what are the best ways to do this?
Susan Kramer
Pandemic fatigue is very real at the worst possible time for youth sports – entering indoor sports season (basketball, volleyball, wrestling, hockey). This is a period when we can’t let our guard down with the virus.
Over the past week, confirmed COVID-19 cases are up 38%, hospitalizations are up 24%, confirmed cases are up 19%, and deaths are up 19%, according to The COVID Tracking Project. The seven-day average of reported deaths has now reached 1,100. Since May 25, only Aug. 4 had a higher seven-day average of deaths.
Thirty-eight states are reporting more than 1,000 daily cases. Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Utah all set records for detected cases. Caseloads and hospitalizations are higher than they were even at the beginning of the fall sports season, or in March and April when all sports were cancelled.
“What that means is that the likelihood of one or more players arriving at practice or a game asymptomatically infectious is substantially greater than it was several months ago,” said Dr. Neel Gandhi, a professor of infectious diseases, epidemiology and global health at Emory University. “That means we are adding one more component of elevated risk (greater community transmission) to another risk (playing contact sports indoors). It makes for a very concerning scenario in settings like youth sports, high schools and many colleges, especially since testing daily or multiple times a week is not feasible.”
Gandhi said much of the transmission which occurred during outdoor seasons showed that what happens around the game or practice is as important as the potential for transmission on the field or court. When teams don’t follow safety procedures in locker rooms, entering and leaving the field, bench areas and other gatherings associated with the team, large outbreaks have a high potential to occur.
Gandhi worries about playing sports indoors given evidence showing that the virus spreads more indoors. He’s not alone. Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, praised the “evidence-based, nuanced action” by the state of Michigan to balance saving lives and preserving livelihoods. Among the decisions in Michigan’s order: All organized sports must stop for the next three weeks, except for pro and college sports that meet “extraordinary standards” for risk mitigation without spectators. “Spread that we’re seeing around schools hasn’t generally been from the academic setting,” Frieden wrote on Twitter. “If we want our kids to continue with in-person classes, we need to skip after-school social events and other nonessential activities.”
While it’s not clear in his tweet if Frieden was referencing school sports, he wrote in a story for The Atlantic that physical activity is important to health and modifications are needed for facilities and participation to minimize risk. “Outdoor-recreation classes and individual activities such as walking, running, hiking, and cycling are safe,” Frieden said. “Well-ventilated gyms – with universal masking (yes, masks with face shields can be worn even while engaging in vigorous physical activity), strict cleaning protocols, and physical distancing – may be able to stay open.”
It’s wise to err on the side caution given the need to control the virus. Even if a child tests positive for the virus without symptoms, he or she could still spread COVID-19 to adults, including those with underlying health conditions.
If kids play indoor sports this winter, Gandi advises the following:
Minimize time spent in close proximity. “When planning for practices, minimize time spent playing defense, or where players are within a few feet of each other.”
Increase ventilation. “The more the air is exchanged, the fewer infection particles remain in the air to be inhaled by others. This can be achieved by opening gym doors and windows.” The discomfort of cold air is better than the alternative.
Wear masks. “Although I realize it is a challenge, it would be great if players can wear masks, especially when defending each other (such as in basketball). It is more important to have masks on when players are in close proximity to each other than when they are sitting on the sideline physically distanced.” Some states like Maine and Massachusetts now require athletes to wear masks in competition (except water sports).
I’m a high school athletic director. Are there guidelines that you can recommend for volleyball, basketball and wrestling?
Carla Moore
There are guidelines. But as USA Volleyball CEO Jamie Davis said, “The most challenging part to return-to-play guidelines is people actually adhering to them. You can put out all the guidelines you want, but if people don’t wear masks or do social distancing, it doesn’t matter.”
USA Volleyball has guidelines here for the sport. For instance, it’s recommended that players no longer switch sides after sets so they don’t have to change benches. Huddles and high fives – a big part of volleyball – are not allowed. Balls get sanitized between games and courts are sanitized between matches. Some volleyball leagues are requiring players to wear masks even while on the court.
Basketball faces challenges with close contact while players guard each other constantly. The International Basketball Federation has some guidelines here and a basketball risk assessment tool here. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 24 of the 51 state associations intend to start basketball seasons on time. Another 18 states will modify their seasons and nine are undecided. The NFHS sports medicine advisory committee does not advocate for players to wear masks while competing, only players and coaches on the bench.
NFHS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff suggested that basketball could mitigate risk by eliminating the jump ball, having refs bounce the ball to players on free throws and inbounds plays instead of being closer to a player and handing off the ball, and requiring that fans follow mask and distancing rules in the stands. “Externally, the challenge lies in community decisions and decisions we make as individuals,” Niehoff said. “Do we carpool? How do we get to events? … You have to consider the size of the facility, ventilation and ability to keep it clean. You have to look at creative ways to implement the game for social distancing without compromising how the game is played.”
The Jr. NBA plans to release new guidelines in the near future. While deferring whether to play to local decisionmakers, the Jr. NBA said it decided to lead by example by not holding any in-person events and instead focus on virtual programming.
In wrestling, USA Wrestling has a phased approach with return-to-play guidelines here. Many states have moved youth and high school wrestling to the spring, although there have been a few national and regional events. But wrestling inherently is difficult now due to close contact. USA Wrestling is considering piloting leagues with a company called Attack Bandz to essentially create flag football for wrestling. Each wrestler wears a flag on his or her ankle, and one point is scored by grabbing it off. That’s the only way a wrestler could earn points. Rules could be applied prohibiting no contact above the shoulders, including no touching of hands.
Mike Clayton, USA Wrestling manager of coach education, cautioned that the organization does not know yet how safe Attack Bandz has been during COVID-19, adding that USA Wrestling would need to work with local health officials to set it up. “We’re trying to build in a little less contact for the sport,” Clayton said. “Maybe by spring we can run Attack Bandz events. Maybe it helps us so it’s not either extreme wrestling or nothing.”
My son plays on a fall high school baseball team. Another player on the team tested positive for COVID. The coach never notified the parents and we only found out after the next game. The coach told the players who it was and said that five days had passed since he started showing symptoms, so the athletic director determined it was safe to play.
I can’t help but feel they should have notified the parents of the situation and what steps were taken to determine it was safe to continue to play. None of the players or coaches were wearing masks or distancing. What should parents do when this happens?
Chris Breen
This must be very frustrating for some parents. We all want kids to play sports as soon and as safely as possible. But when there’s a lack of transparency and/or your child’s sports community isn’t following the established protocols, your school, team, coach or organization risks losing short-term and long-term trust with many parents who are worried about safety and public health interests.
Parents should demand transparency and accountability from their child’s sports provider, as should public health departments. Many high school athletes are going to want to continue to play if a coach only tells them and not parents. For instance, a public health official in Minnesota told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that students are hiding COVID-19 cases and symptoms in order to keep playing sports as cases spike. Minnesota health officials said this week that at least 10% of COVID-19 cases in schools over the past two weeks are associated with sports, with outbreaks in hockey (46 cases), volleyball (41), basketball (20) and soccer (15).
Parents need to be informed of positive cases. And they shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. Project Play offers a checklist with eight questions families can ask themselves and their sports provider during the pandemic.
We will periodically answer youth sports parents’ questions in this Project Play Parent Mailbag. Got a question? Submit it in the form in this page’s sidebar or email jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
