In open letter to Gov. Newsom, California coaches call for detachment from tiered system
A collection of coaches from around California requested this week in an open letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that youth sports be exempted from the state’s tiered reopening system, in a last-ditch effort for there to be any season at all for many sports this spring.
The letter, which was delivered to Newsom Tuesday evening, makes a four-pronged argument for the quick and safe return to play. Patrick Walsh, the head football coach at Serra High School in San Mateo, read the letter aloud Thursday morning on a Facebook Live broadcast, and requested a meeting with the governor.
“The current youth sports’ colored-tiered system is disconnected from real data available,” reads the letter, which was signed by Walsh and six other prominent coaches. “The outcome of this system is a rapid decline in the mental health of all children who play youth sports in our state. This system creates a rapidly growing socio-economic disparity between those that can afford private schools, those that live in higher economic school districts, and those who can afford club teams which are traveling outside the state by the thousands every week in violation of the current order. To save the California youth, we request youth sports be detached from the colored-tiered system entirely.”
As part of the California HSFB organization, Walsh has collected data from workouts at 275 schools throughout California, as well as data on the wellbeing of student-athletes in 105 football programs. According to Walsh, only 11 cases of COVID-19 have been traced back to over 1 million workouts over the past month. But, in a survey of about 10% of the football programs in the state, Walsh said more than 1,000 student-athletes were now ineligible because of poor grades and 253 had dropped out altogether. Another 85 had joined gangs, 64 were newly incarcerated and 38 had become young fathers, Walsh said.
Without a change in the system, it may be a long shot for some sports to have any season at all this spring. Using a football metaphor, Walsh said they were “late in the fourth quarter here, we’re running out of time.” Organizers are planning more “Let Them Play” rallies like the ones held around the state earlier this month, and Walsh encouraged supporters to contact their representatives in Sacramento.
California is one of only a handful of states where youth sports have been sidelined and there isn’t currently a proposed start date. Under its tiered reopening system, it’s likely weeks away before there are any competitions even in the least restrictive of sports.
Currently, no games can be played while under California’s regional stay-at-home order, which is in place until a region’s intensive-care unit capacity reaches 15%. Even when that is lifted, only cross county, golf, tennis, swimming and track would be eligible to start competitions in any county with more than 7 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Baseball, softball, field hockey and girl’s lacrosse can come when cases fall below 7/100K, followed by football, soccer, volleyball, boy’s lacrosse, water polo and gymnastics at a case rate lower than 4/100K, then, finally, basketball, cheer and wrestling at fewer than one daily cases per 100,000.
For context, California is currently averaging more than 80 daily cases per 100,000 residents, and even in the least impacted areas of the state, the infection rates are close to 30/100K.