Return to Play – PARADIGM Sports

Staying the Course

Posted July 4, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, COVID-19, Officials, Organization Executive, Parents

As we slowly see youth sports returning back to the fields, courts, rinks and other playing surfaces and the big smiles on the kids faces for the opportunity to do so, the key thing that keeps coming up with conversations I am having from various stakeholders is the lack of clear direction they are getting from various sources.

As this pandemic we have have all had to face since it started to spread across the globe earlier this year leading to complete shut down of all sports, as it is the first of its kind (hopefully the last), we are all in essence learning how to improvise, adapt and overcome.

Some of the recent discussions I have had with people that I have interviewed for our upcoming Youth Sports Virtual Summit as well as others I have connected with is the biggest challenge is the dissemination of the information to those with their boots on the ground so to speak, the coaches, the players, the officials, board members and other youth sports stakeholders.

A couple of the most recent examples include;

CALIFORNIA

Probably the most extreme example of the breakdown in communication is what happened in California recently from this article shared July 1st.

State recants on Team Sports activities

According to the reporter, many counties were giving the go ahead for drills with no team contact earlier in June, then a few weeks later issued this statement

They subsequently shared there would share further guidance but until such time they did, any youth sports teams that return to play may be guilty of a misdeamour?

All of the youth sports leaders I have connected with the last couple of months have shared their pain points not only in coming up with their return to play guidelines to ensure they meet health authority protocols for physical distancing, sanitization, cohort groups and so forth, but the other big issue has pertained to ensure they have insurance and will not be held liable in the event a stakeholder is tested positive.

Now the State of California is compounded that liability where a volunteer youth sports coach, official, board member will potentially be charged with a criminal offence even though they gave the green light to return provided they adhered to the state guidelines?

CONNECTICUT

Another example was shared to me by my good friend Steve Boyle, founder of 241 sports, whom we partnered with to host the first Canadian 241 Sport Sampling Camp in New Westminster the last week of July.

He shared that the state of Connecticut where he was hosting his first US camp changed the cohort restriction from 10 to 14 and he then shared it with all his parents at the camp would be shifting to larger cohort groups for the remainder of the week as a result.

Soonafter he sent the notice to all of the parents the campers he received an email from a parent saying NO, I signed up my kids to participate in this camp based on all the safety guidelines that you assured us would enforce to mitigate as much risk as possible.

In lieu of emailing her back, he called her and shifted back to maintain the original plan stating I learned “don’t change the rules in the middle of the game”

As Project Plays recent survey shared, over 50 % of parents are leary that their kids may get sick when return back to play as well as similar number shared they were leary they would get sick due to their kids coming out of the safe havens of their homes.

Although the risk for children below the age of 13 is very, very low to contract the virus, in lieu of health authorities or governments/national government bodies changing the rules on the fly, they should be implementing firm plans of action to ensure that they not only flatten the spread of COVID-19 but prevent a further outbreak this fall.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Below is the quote that Dr. Bonnie Henry has now become infamous for as she has ended each of her COVID-19 updates for all residents of British Columbia, the first time she did so was on St. Patricks Day Mar 17, 2020, 2 days after she and provincial government that we had entered into a state of emergency and staying at home would be necessary so we could flatten the curve. She has now done her regular update for 156 consecutive days since … now a local hero and even they young ones say “Bonnie is keeping us safe”

Thanks to Bonnie staying the course since she recently was highlighted in the New York Times as the Doctor that aced the Coronavirus test for the amazing work she and her team have done to flatten the curve.

This is why I was dumbfounded that Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL executive team opted to choose another host city to host half of the teams for their upcoming “bubble” stanley cup tournament. In lieu of going to THE city that has done the best to curb the spread of COVID-19 and compromise in terms of requirements issued to comply to keep 5 Million residents of BC safe, the NHL opted to go to two alternate cities, one being Toronto that is in one of Canada’s largest provinces with 15X the outbreak of COVID-19 than BC.

Personally, if I was a NHL player, coach, manager I would want to go to a city that would rather err on the side of caution to ensure the safety of all those that will be entering the bubble.

That said, I know many people I have talked to about the upcoming playoffs and as a result of not seen hockey or any others sports on tv for months, many say they actually are unsure if they will be glued to their TV’s for hours a day when the playoffs for the NHL, NBA as well as start of MLB.

There are various youth sports examples I can share as well, but at the end of the day what I believe, as do many I have talked to all the way up to national governing bodies in Canada, US and abroad is the youth sports landscape will be different at least for the fall, perhaps going into 2021 until a vaccine or treatment is available.

Until then, whatever hat you wear in the youth sports landscape, please stay the course and follow all of your health authority and governing bodies guidelines so we can flatten the curve and get out from under this pandemic.

The last thing any of need is another outbreak this fall if we don’t stay on track, be patient and per Bonnie

Be Kind – Be Calm – Be Safe

It would be great to see if this become PSA’s at various youth sports facilities when we do return to games again don’t you think?

Imagine if everyone in youth sports were kind to each other (vs. pre covid when adults were screaming at players, officials, other adults)

Imagine everyone was calm even when a kid made a mistake, or an official missed a call

Imagine if youth sports becomes safe to fail again like it should be, not what it had become.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids …. one day at a time, as safely as we can.

Why do Officials “Officiate” (2020)

Posted June 16, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in COVID-19, Officials

Why Officials Officiate – (2020)

A few years back I shared data in original post Why do Officials “Officiate” from what was the largest survey at the time of officials, one done by the national association of sports officials (NASA) where they received responses from 17,487 officials across the USA.

Fast forward to May 2020, I connected with Brenda Hilton, the founder of Officially Human whom I interviewed for our upcoming Youth Sports Virtual Summit along with several others and she shared with me that they had done a followup survey in partnership with IUPUI Sports Information Institute, School of Health and Human Sciences in Illinois.

The survey was done in the Fall of 2019 and just shy of 19,000 officials responded from 15 states in the USA and they prepared an infographic in PDF format that you can download HERE.

Below are highlights from the survey where I have compared results below each image from the one done in 2017

One of the issues in recent years that was identified by the NASO survey and also in recent SII survey is that officials involved in sports are getting older and as a result of COVID-19 there may be a real as youth sports start to ramp up again where many may be leery of returning due to safety concerns, in lieu of verbal abuse, however, from exposure to COVID-19 virus until a vaccine is developed in 2021

The #1 reason they become officials is the same, For The Love of The Game, as is the number 1 reason for quitting, verbal abuse, and almost 60% don’t feel respected by parents and fans.

The sports that have the largest % of shortages are Soccer, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Baseball.

Officials also do so to stay in shape and make money (the majority of which is a small honorarium but some do make a living as officials at the higher levels)

The Second reason that officials quit is the verbal abuse from coaches, it is not just the parents and fans in the stands and sidelines that can be abusive, I have seen more than my fair share of coaches screaming at refs because they felt they missed or made a bad call which is something I remind all of during workshops and clinics.

Almost all of those that responded (96%) felt that they should see an increase in pay of at least 10%!

58% of the officials stated they are getting to work the games they want to find the process of how they are assigned to games unclear, and 1/3 stated the reason they don’t get assigned the games they want is they have to attend camps to do so but are not worth the financial outlay to attend.

Key takeaways for organizations that are looking at attracting, retaining, and growing their number of officials as youth sports slowly return back to play post-COVID-19:

#1 – Parent and Coach Education reinforcing the importance of respecting the officials including codes of conduct for appropriate behavior and positive messaging in all common areas

#2 – Reduce costs for camps/clinics so officials see the value to them

In the 2017 NASO study, much of what officials earn in their seasons is taken up in terms their out of pocket costs for necessary equipment, potentially travel expenses, meals while at tournaments, attending clinics, camps etc.

#3 – Develop Rules Education programs for coaches, parents and fans so they are aware of the respective playing “rules of the game”.

#4 – Raise their pay by 10% (or more)

Minimum wage continues to increase year over year, in my home province has increased 25% the last 3 years so youth sport organizations need to recognize that their staff including paid officials should be compensated relative to costs of living

#5 – Implement mentoring programs for youth officials to be paired with tenured officials before they age out. As the stats showed over half of the officials are over 55 years of age and the level of experience of 45% of officials is less than 6 years!!

This is largely due to the fact that rates of attrition that many sports groups face is as high as 50% of their first year officials and 30% each year thereafter

#6 – Make if Fun for ALL stakeholders, much like players, coaches, officials will only return each year if they enjoy the experience and will quit when it no longer is.

#7 – Implement policies to address poor fan or coach behavior during games so that they are removed from the facilities vs. putting the onus on the officials to say “you’re outta here” only. Many will be reluctant, as well as unqualified to do so, in their first few years to tell parents to leave so they will need support from other adults

I worked for BC Place Stadium in Security for years, and when fans became unruly, it was really simple .. we escorted them out of the facility. Why we have condoned inappropriate behavior in youth sports for years now makes no sense, kids quit, officials quit, coaches quit as a result.

#8 – Reward positive behavior by fans, coaches who demonstrate good sportsmanship in the stands towards officials, the game, players etc.

It could be as simple as coaches sharing with other coaches that their parent groups were awesome, please share our thanks to them for making this such a great experience and game to play.

As the cliche goes, you get much farther with honey than vinegar

#9 – Those that are in sports with shortages, start recruiting, training, mentorships programs NOW before games and tournaments are permitted in phase III/IV Post COVID-19.

#10 – Appreciate that the #1 reason why officials officiate is For The Love of The Game and focus on making the game GREAT for all stakeholders. This not only will help retain officials but players, coaches, board members, and all others in your organizations so you can GROW your memberships … something that is going to be a challenge as sports return back to play.

Returning Back to Play – Phase II

Posted June 4, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Officials, Organization Executive, Parents

After a 2+ month quarantine period, many provinces, states and countries are starting to ease up on the physical distancing measures implemented to ensure that we flatten the curve of COVID19.

In phase I, we have seen restaurants, hair salons, non-essential retail, hotels and other services return with various safety guidelines to ensure that we continue to flatten the curve of COVID19 but slowly return to a sense of normalcy.

The sector that we are involved with is one that I am most excited in seeing work on return to play protocols, youth sports.

What I have found over the last couple of months during the hiatus, however, is the overall direction provided from national authorities and the trickle down effect from national, to provincial (or state), to municipal levels and literally every organization I have talked to saying they are waiting to see what their respective governing bodies provide in terms of guidelines so they can start the process of having their members return to play.

The first of the most anticipated documents that all sports groups in British Columbia (our home province in Canada) were waiting for was the guidelines for ViaSport, the provincial governing body under new leadership and legacy from the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver/Whistler.

The link to the guidelines has now been released, click on the image below to download a copy for reference.

The 35-page document outlines a generic return to play guidelines for all provincial sports organizations to then create their own guidelines to then in turn provide to their local organizations to the same.

Note that ViaSport is requiring that level has their own return to play guidelines, board members review/approve before are provided to their memberships.

I.e. First The National Sport Organization, then Provincial, then Regional (if applicable) and lastly local sports organizations.

The document was released June 1^st, so it will take weeks for the various levels to prepare their own set of return to play guidelines to minimize the risk of the further spread of the COVID19 virus.

Yesterday I attended a webinar that was hosted one of my colleagues in Alberta, Lea Weins a Quality Sport Consultant in Alberta, outlining the project they undertook in various communities in Alberta identifying what quality sport would look like which now will look different as a result of the various health and governing guidelines

What I found interesting was a poll of the attendees from various sports organizations highlighted what I suspected, almost all (97%) stated that their were looking for clear guidelines and timelines to return back to activity. Almost half were looking for assistance to mitigate risk as well as sanitization/cleaning support to ensure the safety of participants.

Source: Alberta Quality Sport Webinar June 2, 2020

This theme is consistent regardless of what sports organization I have talked to in recent weeks and I came across a survey that was done for Project Play By North Carolina and Utah universities of over 1000 youth sports parents in the USA

When asked how comfortable they were with their kids returning to sports 49.5% of parents are afraid of their kids getting sick if sport resumes and just shy of 46% stated they are afraid of getting sick if their child returns to sport!

When parents were asked of their comfort level for their kids returning to various types of sport, over 70% were comfortable for their kids to return to pickup sports (AKA Free Play) and only 50% for what was the pay to play model pre-covid in terms of travel/elite club league sports.

In literally every webinar, Zoom or phone call I have had for over a month the one thing that was consistent was the LACK of consistency but it is due to the fact that every sport has their own challenges how they will return to play, some are low risk (i.e. archery) vs. higher risk team contact sports (rugby) how they can modify their practice sessions initially to adhere to physically distancing requirements.

Below is a chart prepared outlining the various phases for sport activity (also prepared by ViaSport)

Phase I – State of Emergency Quarantine Period (March 13- May 18^th)

Phase II – the phase we (and others are about to enter)

Notice the bare minimum requirements regardless of the sport

Physical Distancing (6’/2m) must still be adhered to
Increased Hand Hygiene (washing hands for 20 seconds regularly)
Outdoor participation is safest … indoor facilities (gyms, pools, rinks) slowly reopening
Small Groups, no or limited spectators, focus on fundamental movement skills
NO Contact activities which will require contact sports like Rugby, Football, Hockey to revamp programming but also many others like basketball, soccer to ensure adhere to physical distancing
Minimal shared equipment and must be disinfected frequently

Phase III/IV are still a ways away so in the short term (at least until September 1^st projected for Phase III), any spring programs/summer camps will have to improvise, adapt and overcome to meet the COVID19 phase II guidelines.

Here are some of the challenges that are holding back sports organizations from shifting to phase II

Insurance Requirements and if a pandemic/contagion exclusion is needed
Updates to Player Participation/Waivers to include COVID19 disclaimer (i.e. that organizations are not to be found liable if participants test positive for COVID19)
Facility Rental – Who is going to bear the costs (product and payroll) to ensure that common areas, equipment is sanitized and if masks will be needed
Scheduling – to ensure minimize overlap of large groups for dropping off/pick up of participants
Spectators – Yes or No … if so how many?
Total Number of participants permitted (players, coaches, trainers, other)?
Will lower numbers make the business model viable?

I even had some ask about what others were doing in terms of tryouts, coach and team selection which I shared that was not even being considered, the goal was merely to get kids back out to their sports in the safest way possible, there are not going to be any competitive games in phase II from the all the sanctioned sports organizations I have talked to.

**As far as non-sanctioned sports that is another thing it itself, only time will tell if they also practice the DO NO HARM philosophy vs. ramping up games and tournaments before health authorities deem it safe for us to do so **

Why is there so much ambiguity, confusion?

Because even the experts are no longer experts when it comes to dealing with a pandemic like the novel coronavirus, which is why over and over again we are hearing the term unprecedented. Never in the course of human history has ALL sport been shut down, from professional to U-sport to high school and community sports.

The other challenge is there are many organizations leary of taking the risk of putting their toe in the water until someone else does so or they are given clear outlines from the higher-ups so to speak.

In sum, as health authorities have now deemed it safe for us to enter phase II, we shared in “What will the new Normal Be” how some organizations were returning to play starting with the infamous Mother’s Day Baseball tourney hosted in St. Louis that many felt was too much too soon.

I just checked my best friend Google to see if any other news had been shared since and to date there have been no reported cases of people that tested positive that participated in the event.

There have been a few others that have or are about to open their doors to return back to play implementing various safety measures to adhere to health authority guidelines.

Following the lead of Burnaby Winter Club who re-opened for bookings May 5^th with rigid safety protocols, now my the multi-sheet facility that I coached at for many years has re-opened after their parking lot was turned into a Hyundai new vehicle parking lot

I started to see cars being parked early part of April as I drove past the rink which I can only assume was a means to generate some revenue as the private facility did close its doors to adhere to the quarantine period.

Fast Forward to May 19^th, they also have opened up 2 of their 4 sheets of ice for skill development sessions like BWC according to Surrey Community staff member that shared during one of the many webinars I have done the last month.

Note – just in a few days the facility manager confirmed that 95% of their ice was booked!

Only 6 skaters are permitted on the ice with a skills instructor, dressing rooms and concession are closed, and there is a one way flow inside the arena

They also have been creative in terms of signage for spectators (only one per player permitted and for markings on the ice to ensure that players adhere to physical distancing, including expanding the goalie crease by 6’!

Once Soccer Canada, ViaSport reviewed BC Soccer released their return to play guidelines on June 3rd.

Click on the image for the guidelines shared with their members

They outline 3 return to play phases only so their phase I is what ViaSport is calling phase II (after the quarantine period)

The documents include guidelines for local organizations, sample sessions and timelines

The sample sessions do outline how fields can be utilized (outdoors) to ensure that number of attendees on the field at any one time does not exceed 50

Session Example of 10 players in group 1 with 2 coaches working on various soccer skills

There is no reference to competitive game play, only skill sessions which adheres to ViaSports and BC Health Authority Guidelines.

Still working on their return to play guidelines for clubs but one of their directors shared in webinar how they envision their return to play will be in three components;

#1 – Only singles play, no doubles or mixed doubles play will be permitted

This will be mandatory for U11 and U9 age groups to start which they believe will be a good thing for their overall sport so coaches can focus less on tactics and more on skill development until the players mature and players have the skills to execute tactics

This also will permit coaches to do more one on one coaching vs. group sessions where coach to player ratio was a high as 1:8

HMMMMM … where I have I shared that before???

#2 – No Spectators initially, only players and coaches will be permitted

#3 – They had already started looking at piloting but are going to roll out AIR Badminton (AKA outside badminton like kids have done in their yards for 2 months during quarantine)

This was initiated pre-COVID lockdown to provide another playing experience than indoor, similar to the Beach Volleyball concept

More examples will follow in the coming weeks as more organizations release their return to play guidelines but as the cliché goes, good always comes out of bad and as more and more sports ramp up for Phase II the challenges we faced pre-covid in terms of adult behavior in the stands/sidelines, focusing on winning at all costs will not be an issue we deal with.

Perhaps this also will be the much-needed catalyst for sports in North America to consider other youth sports development models that we have shared in past like Norway, Sweden and Iceland who don’t even have competitive games until kids acquire the skills to from 6-12 years of age and as a result have had huge success at the Olympic and International Levels as a result.

Only time will tell.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids.