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This is a really interesting perspective on the impact the last 10+ months have had on young athletes.
There's not just one clear black and white answer here. Yes, COVID is real. No, people can't just sit inside for 18 months and wait it out. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/opinion/2021/01/30/theyre-lost-the-pandemic-is-taking-a-silent-toll-on-athletes-young-and-old.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=SportsHockey&utm_content=covid-impact-young-and-old
There's not just one clear black and white answer here. Yes, COVID is real. No, people can't just sit inside for 18 months and wait it out. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/opinion/2021/01/30/theyre-lost-the-pandemic-is-taking-a-silent-toll-on-athletes-young-and-old.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=SportsHockey&utm_content=covid-impact-young-and-old
We've been trying to strike the same delicate balance as tens of millions of other parents with active kids, and ended up deciding that while we were dialing way back on a ton of stuff, the kids needed to see friends and be a part of their teams to the degree that they could.
By far, our ice rink is the building I've spent the most time inside besides our house since last March. Nothing else is even close.
We didn't do Christmas with my family, but we're going to a hockey tournament and figure skating competition in the next couple of weeks.
We didn't do Christmas with my family, but we're going to a hockey tournament and figure skating competition in the next couple of weeks.
This is admittedly all pretty irrational in terms of having a consistent policy on what we can and can't do.
But when I start to question it, I think back to the moment I told my daughter that her softball team was going to start up again on June 1. https://twitter.com/TomOrr4/status/1261007666198925312
But when I start to question it, I think back to the moment I told my daughter that her softball team was going to start up again on June 1. https://twitter.com/TomOrr4/status/1261007666198925312
This stuff matters. COVID matters, too. But there's a reason mental health hotlines have seen massive spikes in calls and overdose numbers have gone through the roof again.
We need community. For kids, that often means sports.
We need community. For kids, that often means sports.
That's also true for college athletes, whether they're football players or hockey players or softball players or tennis players.
They've spent their lives centering their existence around their sport. Taking it away creates all sorts of trailing effects we don't see yet.
They've spent their lives centering their existence around their sport. Taking it away creates all sorts of trailing effects we don't see yet.
What I saw coaching my kid's 10U softball team this summer was one of the reasons I was so ticked off when the Big Ten punted the football season like a bunch of spineless cowards this summer.
And why I still have zero patience for their feckless water-carriers in the media.
And why I still have zero patience for their feckless water-carriers in the media.
Sports matter. And writing them off with "if it saves just one life..." is just brainless crap.
Even if you want to pretend like there's no fallout from bailing on everything, there is.
Even if you want to pretend like there's no fallout from bailing on everything, there is.
So if you have kids, find a way to let them do something with their teams in a way you're comfortable with.
And if you run a youth sports organization, find a way to do *SOMETHING*.
This stuff matters. Even if people want to pretend it doesn't.
And if you run a youth sports organization, find a way to do *SOMETHING*.
This stuff matters. Even if people want to pretend it doesn't.
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