Update on Summer Club Lacrosse

So, what's the latest?  Well, there's a glimmer of hope.  Parents are discussing how much of a refund to expect from clubs this year.  That's to be expected even if most tournaments are held in July and in later dates in August.  We didn't just lose our Spring Rec season and Spring Varsity Season, Club players lost all of their team practices so far this year.  Winter clinics were nearing end, losing the last couple of sessions to the COVID cancellations.  Clubs were set to start their Spring practices in March.  Starting in June, we had expected to see Summer practices begin.  Invariably, things have been pushed back.  The goal posts shifted again!  The glimmer of hope is that most states have given a hard date to return to outdoor sports.  Indoor sports are still not permitted.

In New Jersey, Governor Murphy spoke of a return to outdoor youth sports beginning on June 22nd.  So, we can finally see these kids practice with their teams, as most should fall within the set limit of 25 people.  That's no contact, so no gameplay.  We're talking about shooting drills, passing and conditioning.  We will take what we can get.  High school sports can resume June 30 under protocols that will be issued by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.  Best news we've heard all year!

But, before we start celebrating, the Summer Club Tournament season is not looking so good.  Ultimate Sport's The Grind lacrosse tournament has been cancelled for 2020 as of today.  The yellow COVID19 Update on the homepage reads:

"As of June 8, 2020:

The Grind/The Surge/Project 120 have been canceled for the summer of 2020."

When we clicked on the link for more information, we learned that, "although the Nation is starting to open back up to team practices and SMALL local group play, there are still too many uncertainties and variables that affect the safety of all participants when considering the magnitude of these large events and bringing together teams from across the country. These are risks and chances we are not willing to take when thinking of all of our participants, staff, officials, families, and the athletes on the fields."

Some of the reasoning behind this decision includes the point made by medical experts that "there is not enough research that shows the level of transmission between athletes playing a contact sport." 

They go on to cite the difficulty of contact tracing when teams are coming from all over the country.  While I understand what they mean, we are well beyond the stage of contact tracing, no matter how new the infection.  Testing of non-symptomatic persons has not come anywhere near penetrating the reality of the footprint that this virus has within the general population in the United States.  We were beyond the stage of containment before the CDC started testing.  That's the same CDC which Ambassador Colonel Dr. Deborah Birx says she can't trust.  The CDC is saying that lacrosse tournaments are high risk.

The COVID-19 Virus, which appears to have been weaponized after an accidental leak during change of function experiments at a P4 level lab at the Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, has not just stolen your children's Spring Rec season or the tail end of their BOX season and the last bit of those Winter clinics you paid for, but they've taken Varsity seasons from high school kids who needed this year to get some stats up and begin the recruiting process, to say nothing of the class of 2020 who were robbed of their Senior season, Senior Day ceremonies, prom, graduation and more.  It's the gift that keeps giving.  We smashed the curve.  Now the Sun is here.  Vitamin D and open air fields are calling us and our utility wagons.

Ultimate events made a valid points at the bottom of the page where they call out the fact that these kids are not in tournament play condition.  It takes considerable amounts of game play and practice and conditioning during the Spring to get them in shape for the Summer tournaments.  It is true that Summer tournaments can be grueling.  The heat and humidity are definitely a factor.  Endurance is key.  While some athletes who have the space and the resources, have been practicing at home, most have not had a comparable amount of drills.  No-one has had game play since the first week of March or sometime during the Winter.  The suggested amount of time to recondition athletes back in game play shape is referred to as a "5-week approach".

Now I'm hearing word of other tournaments being cancelled.  Simultaneously, some clubs in Pennsylvania insist they are still going to participate in tournaments.  A friend of mine just posted some pics from his daughter's club baseball scrimmage in Tennessee.  I could go for a club lacrosse scrimmage right now, and I would be happy to drive out of state for it.  The lacrosse showcase events are now being affected by the extended recruiting blackout period due to COVID-19.  The invitational, national and All-American events were very sure last month that it was a green light in July.  Now, reality has set in.  Brine's All America Games have been cancelled.  I was really looking forward to this event, as it was a sure thing no matter what happened with the club tournaments.  Massachusetts' Governor is not going to allow these kinds of tournaments or championships in July.  Plus, I think liability is elephant in the room.  Expect to start seeing some newly crafted waivers when you return to play.  Clubs, tournaments, training centers, event organizers, hotel operators are all going to want to protect themselves.

I'd love to see some game play in local tournaments in New Jersey, but I don't know how realistic that is.  I've already heard of one tournament at the Jersey shore being cancelled.  There's a whole process and triage just to drop off and extract the kids once they are allowed to have their first practice, so we won't even get to watch them practice.  When can we see them play again?