Quinlan2020

Just keep in mind that when schools open there will be more cases, which leads to more community spread. That community spread will infiltrate every active aspect of society. That includes youth sports. Other viruses will also be present in the fall that will further complicate things. Then all these viruses will further spread in the community. This is the main reason that the state health department doesn't want sports to happen until 2021. I don't necessarily wish that sports be postponed until 2021, but I would prefer a pause until, at least, October. I could see having practices involving individual skills & conditioning until then, but no contact. I would like to allow the return-to-school process settle in a little prior to throwing sports into the mix.

Thanks. You nailed it. I couldn't agree more.

Once again, the totally stupid argument about kids being low risk. People still don't understand the part about stopping the spread? Wow.

Yeah. Creepy me. I had a hoodie, sunglasses & fake beard on so I wasn't recognized.

I was snooping around the playing fields around my house and couldn't help but notice the lack of concern for any social distancing among the youth football participants, Coaches were actively encouraging high-fives, handshakes & huddling & yelling in close proximity. Kids on the sidelines were all over each other and parents were congregating all around the fields and in the parking lots. It was like stepping back to 2019. Too many people just don't care. Blame those people for possibly shutting down sports instead of the governor.

Does anyone really think that strict guidelines will be followed? Half the people don't even believe this pandemic is a big deal. Those that run youth sports are just a cross-section of our society. We have failed miserably at containing this virus in the US. I have very little confidence that the people running youth sports will fair any better. In theory... It seems that sports could be run safely, but I think we all know what the reality is.

PIAA announced that they will be pausing the season for two weeks and it is requesting further discussions with the state. I expect a compromise to what I have been suggesting. There won't be any competitions involving contact. Contact sports [like hockey] will only be allowed to do conditioning & individual skill drills until further notice.

Disagree. 2021 is just an artificial deadline. It gives hope that there will be some flexibility by then based on the situation. Things may be worse or things may be better. It's no secret that politics is involved in a lot of what is said, but it does no good to discuss it here. It just pushes people's buttons.

My decision as leader of a PAHL organization would be to just limit practices to individual skills and then plan to have a little 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 house-league like season if we're looking good come October. There would be no travel schedule until 2021.

Governor may still take it a step further and impose restrictions. Perhaps, organizations like PAHL & PIHL will make self-imposed restrictions and make it less likely for the state to impose harsher ones.

OK. You seriously can't be comparing school to sports.

But he didn't specifically say "high School". Did he? It sounded like he said all sports

OK. The "Canadian doctor" may be reputable and may be 100% correct. But, based on many other medically trained opinions, he/she may be wrong. Everyone seems to latch on to the opinion that fits most with what they would like to hear. There is a lot that is not known. What is known is that the more we gather, the more the spread. That is why we should proceed with caution. I want to hope that your Canadian doctor is right. I do like your statement "There's no reason sports cant be played with some modification and self-control. " I don't think enough people are on board with that statement and just want to jump right in as if life is back to normal.

I hope that rinks can stay open and offer all that. I just worry about relying on the people that are running such things. There are too many with a cavalier attitude that will not do things right and mess things up for everyone else. So many people aren't taking guidelines seriously and many of them are heavily involved with youth sports. I was going by a field yesterday and watched a youth football practice for a little while. I saw coaches gathering the kids in tightly-packed huddles for instruction and giving kids high fives & handshakes. Many kids on the sidelines mingling & rough-housing and nobody even caring. I also saw kids outside the rink [waiting to get in for their session], and all gathered closely laughing & horsing around without a care. Parents & coaches need to be smarter about this.

Conditioning & skill sharpening.

Old News here, but more significant will be the updated youth sports guidelines form state health secretary. The news said that is due to be released in the next few days. I am thinking that they will suggest contact sports be limited to non-contact drills and games will be postponed.

And the chart kind of shows that. The numbers aren't high in that category. Unfortunately, people that are going to these ridiculous parties will also be participating in sports. Just about every group activity has elevated risk now because of the transmission rates. We could lower that transmission rate by avoiding these parties and make the organized activities much safer. It a bad decision our society has made at the expense of the more conscientious people that just want a little normalcy back in our kids lives.

It's on the graph titled "Reported Exposures by Activity" and in the category of "Played Sports". It looks like the main culprit now is parties.We probably would be in pretty good shape and not even talking about youth sports & gyms being a potential problem if all the summer parties didn't happen. We can thank all our neighbors that occasionally have 20 or more visiting cars lining the street for keeping our kids out of school and other extra-curricular activities this fall.

I think there will be an announcement within a week that competitive sports will be mostly shut down. I also predict that schools be restricted to remote learning for the first nine week period. The data shows that there has been a significant uptick in Covid-19 infections within the 13-18 year old age group over the past few weeks.

I am more pessimistic everyday.I have already heard of several situations where friends of my kids have had someone (parent/player) affiliated with their sports team test positive. I also see that the under 18 age group has experienced the highest increase in new cases during July. Allegheny County cases among that age group was near zero in prior months but it usually double digits each day since.

I agree. When you see the extremes that professional sports are going, trying to make it work, it makes you wonder how youth sports will go on without any of those four items that you mention.

I think you will be right but sports has a small chance if they show that they can police themselves. That would mean taking steps that show a genuine concern for putting safety first. Having traditional practices & games right away would give the impression that the desire to play overrides that. I am not saying that is the case but perception often takes the place of reality. I, personally, do not know how far we can go before compromising safety. Nobody really knows.

You're definitely correct. I am in the minority within this community. The general public, however, would prefer my proposal. And you are also right about the $1,000 - $2,000 not being a big deal to most hockey parents. Money isn't an issue for most involved in this sport. It is a wealthy demographic. There will be a few, however, that feel that this amount of money is significant. Many states reopening everything hastily is what got us into this mess with cases surging. I would hope we would learn our lesson at some point. Certain organizations can learn from these mistakes and take a more cautious approach. This will not only benefit us as a country, but also avoid being a target for mandated shutdowns. I want sports to proceed, but in a safe, sustainable manner.

I think they could allow spectators if done correctly. They would need to sign up and get a number. They would then be permitted to sit/stand at the numbered spot in the bleachers. The numbers would, of course, need to be spaced out to allow for social distancing. All spectators would need to wear a mask and leave immediately when the session ends. Unfortunately, this would probably only work in theory as there will always be idiots that break the protocol and ruin it for everyone else.

You could be right. I'll have to go when it's dark to make sure. I'm just a little paranoid that they may not want anyone to see what's going on in there. I would hope that the Live Barn would be available. If not, I will be convinced that they don't want parents seeing how these Covid-Era practices are being conducted to avoid controversy.