Masked spectators keep a safe distance as they watch a youth baseball game in Indianapolis on June 18. Thomas J. Russo, USA TODAY Sports
Like much of America, youth sports organizers and parents are struggling to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many people are trying their best to follow what can be confusing and frustrating protocols. Others simply ignore common sense. It’s not hard to find club teams disregard health advice by traveling across state lines for games in large gatherings, local parents packed tightly together in the stands without masks and sports proceeding like business as usual.
We all want kids to play given the many physical, social and emotional benefits attached to sports. But we need to do so by following good science.
We are a divided country, even in something as seemingly innocent as kids playing sports. What should be a fun activity risks becoming viewed as an enemy of public health interests.
Americans have never agreed on how to open and close our states, businesses and schools, much less the fragmented quagmire that is youth sports, which lacks national governance. So, we are where we are. But it doesn’t need to stay this way — nor can we afford the status quo during a difficult winter and still months away from most Americans receiving vaccinations.
President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board offers an opportunity to empower health experts to lead this crisis based on science. Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who is co-chairing the board, recently stated that restrictions should be thought of “not as a switch that we flip up and down, but more as a dial that we increase and decrease as the situation dictates.”
That dial is desperately needed for youth sports, where about 36 million youth from kindergarten through high school play annually. At the Aspen Institute, our Project Play initiative has closely tracked what’s happening in youth sports during the pandemic. Confusion and frustration reign.
Many officials at pro sports leagues, colleges and high schools have said there is no evidence of players transmitting the virus on the field despite close contact between teams. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health produced since-refuted research concluding there’s virtually no extra risk of transmission from playing high school sports.
Yet outbreaks linked to sports have been identified by federal, state and county health officials in more than a dozen states. Many public health departments are pleading for better vigilance by youth sports participants.
More consistency is needed
We need the federal government to sort through the science and tell us what’s true. This means stronger guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has return to play considerations lacking specifics related to metrics. There is almost no consistency state by state (and even within states) on what metrics to use to reopen or close sports.
One lesson we’ve learned is the focus must be on prevention regarding other team activities just as much, if not more, than on-field transmission. Transportation to games and practices, locker rooms, sidelines, team meals and postgame gatherings are ways to spread the virus. We need consistent messaging through good science to educate youth sports parents, coaches, administrators and athletes.
Even when clear and sensible guidelines have been established, too many teams and leagues simply disregard them. “You can put out all the guidelines you want,” USA Volleyball CEO Jamie Davis said, “but if people don’t wear masks or do social distancing, it doesn’t matter.”
In Illinois, the state high school association initially defied the governor’s orders to put basketball games on hold. In Minnesota, students have hid COVID-19 cases and symptoms in order to keep playing sports. In Portland, a dad described “Black Ops stuff” occurring so high school basketball players train “underground” in violation of local guidelines.
Health officials are reluctant to punish violators in part because the nation is so divided on how to address the pandemic due to President Donald Trump’s lack of leadership.
Travel sports is lucrative business
Travel sports events, which are an estimated $19 billion industry, have pushed the envelope the most even as health experts strongly advise to play locally, if at all. There’s a financial incentive to keep playing travel sports — these events generate local tourism dollars, sometimes help players get exposure for future college scholarships, and serve as the livelihood for many tournament organizers, club directors and coaches.
In November, the governors of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New Jersey collaborated to temporarily ban interstate youth hockey games. We need more joint efforts like this now.
Parents are watching. In a September survey of youth sports parents by the Aspen Institute and Utah State University, 64% said they worry their child would get sick by returning to sports. That was up from 61% in June and 50% in Ma
Still, more parents are letting their kids play again because they don’t like the alternative — limited physical activity, fewer social interactions and reduced opportunities to develop sport skills. Parents reported feeling most comfortable with individual pickup games (71%) and least comfortable with travel sports (52%). But what about those parents who want their child to play and can’t trust teams and leagues to even try to follow guidelines?
No silver bullet exists to create shared sacrifice. Overly severe restrictions risk weakened compliance with minimal public health gains. Overly loose restrictions risk ignoring the reality that we have a long winter ahead of us.
Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board can start with good science to show that decisions are being made based on data, not politics. Then it’s up to all of us involved in youth sports — coaches, administrators, parents and more — to create and enforce a responsible framework for what sports should look like for kids during a pandemic.