By Kirk Kern
In mid-March, Guy Hobbs made a relatively easy decision.
As president of Nevada Youth Soccer Association, Hobbs followed suit with the Clark County School District in shutting down all NYSA activities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For the recreation leagues, the spring seasons were just kicking off with more than 2,000 participants. Club level play also shut down, including the big Player’s Showcase event that would have included 600 teams, mostly from out-of-state.
“That’s our highest level tournament,” said Hobbs, who added that two other big tournaments have also been cancelled. “There would have been a lot of college recruiters there to see the players.”
Since then, it’s been a waiting game to determine the best and safest way to resume play. Hobbs and the NYSA have put together a four-tiered plan to resume play.
He’s even had a conversation with Gov. Steve Sisolak about this plan to see how it fits in with the governor’s plan to re-open the state.
“None of us have had a lot of practice dealing with a pandemic,” Hobbs said. “A lot of kids were being schooled at home, with no recreational outlet.”
The first phase to resuming youth soccer could happen soon. It will include practice, but not games. There can be no physical contact, with only individual training drills. Groups will not exceed 30 participants per field and there can be no sharing of equipment. Participants must remain at least 10 feet apart.
Phase Two will allow small training groups, but should not exceed 4-on-4 drills. Physical contact should be minimized and. again, groups should not exceed 30 participant per field. Games are still not permitted in Phase Two as well as any activity in which a player comes into contact with another’s equipment.
In Phase Three, teams can have controlled scrimmages and practice games, but physical contact should still be minimized. There are no limitations on participants per field and it’s recommended that there is no travel that requires overnight stay.
Phase Four is full return of play, with no restrictions on training sessions. Games and tournaments can be played, but social distancing is still recommended.
Hobbs said Phase One could happen as soon as next week, but there is no timetable on any of the other phases.
“A lot of parents are eager to have kids have things to do,” Hobbs said. “We’re trying to find a middle ground between being shut down completely.”
Another issue is that city and county parks are still not reservable. Soccer is one of the top sports in the valley in terms of youth participation and there is a large contingent of parents and players just waiting for the green light to resume play.
“Our standard of care, when this involves kids, should be higher than most,” Hobbs said. “Our guidelines and rules have been very clear.”
But that doesn’t mean the association will just blindly follow these guidelines.
“This thing has been so fluid,” Hobbs said. “I’m not totally confident that we know everything we need to know. It’s an evolving science.”