As some states begin to reopen from coronavirus pandemic restrictions, youth sports are starting to return in pockets of the country. How kids return to organized sports will be shaped by what local and state authorities allow, what leading sport and public health bodies recommend, what liability risks exist, and what parents are willing to accept.
On May 13, the Aspen Institute’s Project Play hosted our fifth webinar, this one aimed at understanding what steps should be taken to safely bring youth sports back. Parents are watching. Only 52% of parents are comfortable with their child participating in travel sports, much less than school sports (68%) and community sports (67%), according to a new survey reported on by Project Play.
There should certainly be a phased approach. It may be you’re going to start by having individual (activities) like archery and things where you can have social distancing easily built into the sport early on. … You don’t have to not practice soccer. You just do individual drills with your own ball but don’t have other people touching the ball.”
