As some states and communities return to youth sports during the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are trying to navigate this new experience on their own. 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 form in this page’s sidebar or email jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
Our local youth sports team is going back to practice and tryouts. I have questions about the use of face masks for indoor and outdoor sports and for practice and competition. What are the pros and cons? We are requiring kids to wear masks at soccer and volleyball, but no other kids are wearing them, so I am confused what is best.
Amanda Garcia
This is a challenging question for many parents – and a divisive one in our society. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says face coverings may be challenging for players (especially younger kids) to wear while playing sports, and recommends they “should be worn by coaches, youth sports staff, officials, parents and spectators as much as possible.” Remember, masks are not intended to protect the wearer. They’re intended to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 from the person wearing the mask – who may not have any symptoms of the disease. We’re all in this together to control the spread.
U.S. Soccer advises that all participants – coaches, players, referees, instructors, administrators – wear new or clean cloth masks upon arrival and departure at trainings. It’s recommended that masks not be worn during physical exertion, while there’s appropriate social distancing based on local conditions. How important does U.S. Soccer believe it is to wear masks other than during physical activity? It’s promoting that pro stars such as Megan Rapinoe and Christian Pulisic will be wearing masks when they’re not playing, with the hope youth are likely to follow.
“At the beginning, there’s going to be non-compliance or young kids that just forget their mask or don’t come the way they’re asked,” U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Chiampas said. “That’s OK, but we should stop and educate.”
USA Volleyball’s return to play guidelines recommend that all attendees be required to wear face masks except for athletes on the court playing. Before and after activities, athletes are advised to wear a face mask to reduce exposure to airborne particles.
How should youth sports teams look at players with asthma and other respiratory problems in opening during COVID-19?
Francis Lukawski
This is in part why masks are important. Though there’s a lot we still don’t know about the virus, asthma must be factored into what return to play looks like – not just for players, but also adult coaches, officials and volunteers. Doctors say the first thing parents should consider when deciding whether their children should participate is whether the child has any underlying health conditions, such as asthma. Talk to your child’s doctor if it’s appropriate to play.
For teams with asthmatic players or adults, it’s important to recognize that CDC says people with moderate to severe asthma “may be at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.” The coronavirus can affect a person’s respiratory tract (nose, throat, lungs), cause an asthma attack, and possibly lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory. CDC has a list of considerations for people with asthma, including:
Take precautions to keep space between yourself and others
Avoid crowds and people who are sick
During an outbreak in your community, stay home as much as possible
Follow your asthma action plan
Continue your current medications, including any inhaler use
Avoid your asthma triggers
Clean and disinfect things you and others touch frequently
If playing inside, CDC recommends that teams “ensure ventilation systems or fans operate properly. Increase circulation of outdoor air as much possible, for example by opening windows and doors. Do not open windows and doors if doing so poses a safety or health risk,” such as triggering asthma symptoms.
KidsHealth.org also offers tips on how to handle kids with asthma during COVID-19. “Being away from friends, missing school, and having to stay home can be stressful for any child,” the website states. “But strong emotions like stress can trigger an asthma flare-up. Help your child find ways to relax, stay calm, and manage stress and anxiety.”
Have states that have opened up and allowed sports seen increases in cases linked to sports participation? It seems unlikely unless parents or coaches did not follow guidelines. Living in a county still at the baseline despite the data and watching youth suffer, I fear our state’s COVID-19 response – not COVID-19 – is creating an adverse childhood event.
Colleen Reuland
Please continue to follow guidelines from your local public health officials. Prior to shutdowns happening, the outbreak of the virus in Decatur County, Indiana, was due in part to a high school basketball sectional championship game. Health officials later determined that the game contributed to community spread. Decatur County reported 10.5 coronavirus-related deaths per 10,000 residents – more than twice the rate of any other Indiana county and one of the nation’s highest per-capita death rates.
Over the past month, we have not seen reports directly linking the reopening of youth sports events to outbreaks, though that doesn’t mean there has not been transmission. Ten states – Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas – hit new highs for hospitalized patients this past Sunday, according to The Washington Post. Most of those states have seen youth sports reopen to some degree, including some with large organized travel tournaments. That doesn’t mean there is a correlation to rising hospitalizations. We have not seen research studying that question.
Lauren Sauer, a critical response expert at Johns Hopkins University, said finding cases through youth sports could be challenging since it’s not possible to test everyone at a youth sports event and the challenges of not having enough public health officials available to conduct contract tracing. Identifying where cases involving kids came from will likely be linked to public health authorities or a hospital someone visits, such as a minor having elective surgery and testing positive prior to the procedure, Sauer said. Public health authorities must be notified when you learn of a new case.
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.
