Written by COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on almost every area and industry of the world. There are many that have contracted the disease, from those in major cities to those who live removed from the rest of the world (Think of indigenous Brazilians). Many are even carriers of the disease and do not even know, spreading the disease to others. The disease does not discriminate and has already demonstrated that it can reach almost anyone.
Asymptomatic carriers and those who are currently ill are why it is incredibly important to maintain social distancing. However, every time I have been outside the last few weeks, even the last few days, I have seen coaches or trainers holding practices and training sessions. Whether it is a high school running team, youth baseball, basketball, and soccer teams, adult rugby players, swimming practice, personal trainers holding group or one on one strength training, or even professional football players doing some conditioning training, everyone is either not understanding the disastrous impact the training in groups can cause or are extremely naive to it. Even this week there was news of German Bundesliga holding practices beginning this past Monday. Please, for the sake of athletes, their families, and your own and family’s health and well-being, please stop holding practices!
According to Christian Klaue, Director Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at the International Olympic Committee, upon learning of COVID-19’s global reach and impact, the International Olympic Committee’s top focus was on each athlete’s health and safety. They saw how daunting COVID-19 is and immediately did everything possible for the safety of all Olympic Athletes and those that have some an affiliation with the Olympic movement, culminating weeks later with the postponement of the Olympics until next year.
Before knowing what the rest of the world was going to do, and not willing to wait for guidance from their governments or Olympic committees, national sports federations from around the globe immediately began shutting down operations and training. Some national sports federations that were quick to take decisive action were Swim Ireland, USA Water Polo, and Romanian Fencing. Just like the International Olympic Committee, their focus was on health and safety. Dr. John Rudd, National Performance Director for Swimming & Diving at Swim Ireland, quickly started to “work with athletes at all levels across the nation and made sure that training was modified and relevant according to age, physical development and length of time in the sport” of swimming, to ensure everyone’s health and safety.
Is improving your athletes’ performance level above their health and safety? Imagine if one of your athletes became ill because they contracted from someone at the practice you held. How would you feel if you were the sole reason that your athlete became ill? What if your athlete’s COVID-19 causes a “dangerous and potentially fatal” condition known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and their lung capacity is permanently diminished? Athletes being permanently injured or dying because of a coach’s desire to improve is extremely unprofessional and reckless.
If an athlete brings COVID-19 from practice into the home, and a family member were to become ill and die would take a huge psychological and emotional toll on an athlete. This would not just be from the athlete losing a loved one from the disease, but it would be because the athlete effectively brought the virus into the home which ultimately led to their death. There may be too much agony and grief, both short and long term, for the athlete to psychologically and emotionally to come back from to compete at the same high level or even remotely compete at the same level.
If death, permanent injury, and emotional and psychological impact are not enough to deter coaches or trainers from continuing to hold practice, let’s take a look at the long term legal and professional impact of the poor decision to continue holding workouts and training sessions. If word that a reckless coach or trainer gets out to the press or social media, it may result in the individual being investigated or sanctioned by their governing body. In addition or in place of sanctioning, athletes may refuse to train under the coach as they may feel the coach is unsafe. Coaches and trainers who have nobody willing to train under them is extremely hard for their livelihood. Depending on jurisdiction, local or national laws may force a police investigation and may eventually lead to a fine or jail time.
Lastly, if all of those potential negative are not enough, let’s discuss financial impact. As stated previously, if a governing body has sanctioned a coach, there are legal ramifications, or athletes do not want to train under the coach, it would be extremely difficult for a coach to make a living. On top of that, through potential investigations, what if it is found that the coach’s practices were the cause of COVID-19 spreading to a family where someone died or was in long term care in the hospital? Will the coach be financially liable to pay the medical bills and funeral expenses? There may also be lawsuits that follow with hefty price tags attached to just legal defense, let alone losing a lawsuit. Would an insurance company that covers coaches or liability insurers be willing to continue to insure a coach knowing that they were reckless with the health and safety of their athletes?
If everything that was discussed in this article is not persuasive enough, then it is just up to coaches to choose to do the right thing for the athletes. An athlete’s mental, physical, and emotional health and safety should never be compromised for training or competition.