All we want is for everything be back to “normal” for soccer. There is a light at the end of the tunnel but there are safety steps that we need to take to keep our athletes safe and families safe as well. This is my safety protocol for my high school girls’ soccer program training.

Before a player even reports to the field, parents must take the players temperature as well as other family members. A staff member is at the gate and players must verify that family members do not have a temperature. We, as a staff, then proceed to do a touchless temp check at the gate to double check if the player has a fever. If the player has a fever, they do not enter the field and go home. Staff have a note pad that the staff record the players name and their temperatures on.

Along with the temperature checks, we have established that it is mandatory for the players and staff to wear masks upon arrival and can take them off when they are training.

Staff must get to the field 20 minutes early and setup 20×20 grids on the field. When the players are cleared from the gate, we tell the players to bring all their stuff with them to a specific grid where we have 7-8 players in a grid. They are required to bring their own water bottle and soccer ball for our training sessions. We as coaches do not enter the grids and expose them to other players that are there.

We then give the players direction on the skills and other technical techniques to execute. Coaches give players the freedom to dribble in their 20×20 grids and give corrections with personal demonstrations and verbal corrections.

After the training session, we excuse the girls’ grid by grid until each player is in their vehicles. After they leave their grid, they are required to wash their hands with hand sanitizer before leaving the field.

Even with these safety protocols, I have had players exposed to someone with Covid-19 and are now on a 14-day quarantine now. You can never be too safe!

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