The Coronavirus has had devastating effects on youth sports. The participation in youth sports has been declining. Due to the current pandemic, many things have been shut down, including schools. Since schools have been shut down, student athletes have had to train at home.  One coach in Southern Los Angeles noticed the decline in youth sport participation because athletes do not have anywhere to train. It may not be much of a problem in smaller towns such as Lexington, Va., but in places like Los Angeles, Ca., where Coronavirus hit hard, it could become a big problem. Youth sports are so important because they develop confidence in kids, they promote teamwork and cooperation, and youth sports help develop a healthy lifestyle. Without the ability to play a sport as a child, athletes will not be able to get better at what they do. There would not be college or professional sports because athletes would not be able to train and learn when they are younger. Youth sports are not completely going away, but if they keep declining, then eventually, youth sports could no longer exist.

In an article published by the New York Times, Tom Farrey, the director of the Sports and Society Program at the Aspen Institution, is noticing this upcoming crisis as well. 

 “This is a moment of historic crisis,” said Farrey. Meaning that seeing this decline in youth sports could become worse and worse. It is something the world doesn’t want to see happen. 

 According to the Aspen Institution…released a survey regarding youth sports participation. The survey shows an almost 50 percent decline in youth sport participation. 

“A lot of kids have checked out of sports,” said Farrey. 

Freshman Maggie Robertson has noticed a change in her softball team. She noticed that it was not the players, but the coaches who have been causing a decline.

“The teams have been lowering because the coaches are worried too much about Covid and don’t allow all the players to come back,” said Robertson. 

High school football is returning to some places, but in others, it is only a thought. RCHS has been working on plans to try and get all sports to be able to have a season, but no one knows what the future holds for youth sports, and only time will tell. RCHS has been working towards getting all kids back to their sport. It is a slow process but the school is really trying to convince and motivate kids to come back for pre-season workouts. With the return sports plan, sports are not supposed to start till November. Currently, there are many teams doing pre season workouts to try and get the athletes ready for the up and coming season. RCHS works hard to make sure that the athletes are getting what they deserve. They take the sports very seriously and want what is best for the athletes. It would be devastating to see youth sports slip away from not only RCHS but the world. Only time will tell to see if we can recover from this crisis or if youth sports will forever be gone.