High School Sports in the Time of Covid

In this morning's edition of my local paper, the high school sports reporter and columnist argued that the area school districts should reverse their decisions and allow sports to be played this season. He said, in part

`...there is enough evidence to suggest that putting teenagers back on the field can be done safely, provided everyone is following CDC guidelines and, frankly, not being stupid.

It does require cooperation from every high school athlete, coach and staff member to ensure he health and safety of everyone involved. That includes high school athletes being extra mindful of one's family, friends and community.

(I hesitate to say this, but I suspect part of what motivates the writer is his own livelihood. If high schools do not play sports, what will he have to write about it?)

At any rate, I wrote a letter to the editor in response and I post it here. I have redacted the columnist's name for use here.

To the editor:

Regarding his column on Wednesday, September 16, is [the columnist] Matt Smith completely unaware of what has happened on college campuses across the country in the past month? Has he not read of the surges in corona virus cases caused by young people ignoring the rules set down by their administrations and local authorities? What makes him think that 15-to-18-year-olds will be any more careful than their older brothers, sisters, and cousins?

Is he also unaware of the virus cases that have arisen in the professional sports that have returned to play? If baseball players whose livelihood depends on being able to continue to operate in a safe, healthy environment cannot remain infection-free, what makes him believe high schoolers will be any different?

What's more, any infection that occurs within a high school football, soccer, or whatever team will not remain isolated to that team. Those student athletes attend classes with non-athletes, return home to their parents, grandparents and siblings, and, of course, will pass on the infections to the teams they compete against.

[The columnist] is living in a fool's paradise if he believes high school sports can be played safely in the current environment.

I'm very interested in anyone else's thoughts.

 

School Sports Protest

It sometimes seems to me that there is a certain type of parent who believes that school exists to provide a place for their kid to excel in sports. Virtually all the high schools in my county have decided to cancel or postpone the fall sports season as result of the pandemic. And yesterday, a group of parents from those schools held a rally to oppose that decision, arguing we were one of only two sports districts in Pennsylvania to do so. (Of course, the fact that both of those districts are in the most densely populated areas, with some of the highest incidence of infections, seems to have escaped them.)

I have to wonder what these parents would do if the schools had decided to go forward with football, soccer, field hockey, cross country, etc. and a large number of student athletes had contracted COVID. And then those student-athletes spread that infection to their families.

 I have something to say to those parents: If playing football (and I firmly believe it's mostly that segment that is involved) is the most important part of school for your child, then you have a bigger problem than a cancellation or postponement of his season.

Fall Sports

The organization in charge of high school sports in Pennsylvania--the PIAA--has decided that those schools that want to proceed with outdoor interscholastic sports this semester can. That would mean football, predominantly, but also soccer, cross-country track, and, I think, field hockey. They are still advising against indoor sports (such as volleyball). And the state regulations still pretty much prevent fans in the bleachers (limit is 250 people...so maybe family members of the players could be permitted).

Not sure how I feel about this, when so many other non-athletic extra-curricular activities are still prohibited--no band or choral concerts, no plays or musicals. (I'm assuming the marching bands will not be doing their traditional half-time shows or pep-band material, since they are not permitted to practice.) This seems to put the athletes on a different level from all the other students.

Your thoughts?