Photo Credit: NAYS
I have heard the phrase “essential workers” thrown around quite a bit over the last year. And every time I have read a story about a youth-sports program closing because of COVID-19, I thought, “Somebody has to figure out just how essential youth sports are in our society!”
Could there be a more important time to make sure that children have fun and safe recreational activities to look forward to? I don’t think so. And for youth-sports professionals—who are as essential as ANYONE in a community—is there a better time to look at those programs and make sure we are doing everything the best way we know how?
I recently read a statement from Dr. Megan Cannon, a sports psychologist that NAYS interviewed, about ways to help young athletes cope and thrive during these tumultuous times. (You can find the interview and more, free, great content on our SportingKid Live! webpage at nays.org/sklive.)