‘Return to Play’ guide offered for parents, kids
Project Play Southeast Michigan was just starting to catch on in Macomb County when the COVID-19 outbreak hit, bringing an end to its progress and children playing together afterschool at the Jermaine Jackson Community Center in Mount Clemens.
“Every child should reap the benefits of a lifestyle that’s active, healthy and fun. So we intend to give every single one of them in southeast Michigan that opportunity through sports,” according to a news release from Project Play of Southeast Michigan, whose partners include the Aspen Institute, Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan and the Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation, which is the organization that set in motion State of Play.
State of Play was an extensive regional research study showing that many children in the country who might have been interested in sports at an early age stopped doing so by the time they reached middle school for a variety of reasons including financial struggles. In addition to gaining insight in children’s activity levels the study delved into how to encourage children to remain active in the sports that they enjoy.
Project Play was a solution.
One aspect of that was Sport Port, which included setting up community sites where children could rent sporting equipment for free or gather to play fun activities led by partnering YMCA counselors.
Mount Clemens’ Jermaine Jackson Center was among the sites offering afterschool activities and gearing up for the spring and summer rental season but the center closed in March due to the threat of spreading the virus.
Still, children must play. “Over the past month, Project Play has developed an array of resources to help parents, coaches and leaders in youth sports navigate the myriad challenges presented by COVID-19,” said Tom Farrey, executive director of the Sports & Society Program referring to the ‘Return to Play’ initiative. “We hope this tool helps kids get active again, safely.”
Among the resources for parents and youth sports leaders is a cross-sport risk assessment guide that shows how various games and recreational activities can be enjoyed despite restrictions such as social distancing.
The tool is the result of a collaboration between two Aspen Institute programs – the Sports & Society Program and the Health, Medicine, and Society Program. The materials are based on CDC guidelines, and were reviewed by experts from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Hospital for Special Surgery, as well as officials at various national sport governing bodies who shared their input.
The guide is available to parents at as.pn/returntoplay
While most Michiganders remain under orders to stay home many other states in America are beginning to gradually reopen. Health experts recognize the role of outdoor recreation and exercise in promoting mental health, physical fitness, and cognitive development. Throughout the crisis the Center for Disease Control has also recommended daily physical activity for both children and adults, while also recommending no organized sports or activities, given the many challenges of containing the virus in group settings.
According to the Aspen Institute, priority consideration in this guide is given to lower-risk forms of participation, most of which involve free play or individual training.
Individuals can select the sporting activity that’s right for them, such as running, basketball, or soccer, and the guide provides recommendations from low-to-highest risk methods to engage with the activity and connects them to additional resources. The guide will be updated on a weekly basis with additional activities and will respond to changing physical distancing guidance.
“Our goal was to create a tool for individuals and families to assess risk in a variety of common sports and recreational activities based upon the best available research from health experts. Using our tool can help you decide how to stay active based on your preferred activity or sport,” said Ruth Katz, executive director of the health, medicine, and society program at the Aspen Institute.
Project Play of Southeastern Michigan is supported through a collaborative effort by the Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation, The Aspen Institute and the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.