Along with Fun, Safety is our #1 Priority
During this pandemic we are taking many many precautions to ensure that we play soccer in a safe environment. We had a safe and fun Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 seasons with zero transmission of COVID-19 through soccer activities and we aim to accomplish the same during our Spring 2022 season.
Spring 2022 COVID-19 Updates
Update: March 26, 2022:
We will continue to monitor local conditions and will be prepared to adjust our policies if necessary, but for now, we are free to resume normal soccer activities without specific COVID-19 Safety Guidelines in place.
Update: January 1, 2022:
The more highly transmissible Omicron variant presents a different set of challenges so we will be monitoring the spread of the virus in local schools closely. We will update our Safety Guidelines as we get closer to the season. Updates will be published on our website. All players, coaches and spectators will need to fully commit to our Safety Guidelines to participate in Spring soccer.
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Fall 2021 COVID-19 Updates
Update: August 25, 2021:
We continue to monitor recommendations from our state and local health departments as well as mask policies in our local schools as we plan for a safe Fall 2021 season. As we've all learned over the last year, conditions change, and we all have to be ready to adapt to maintain safety. At the time of this release, there are no COVID-19-related state-ordered restrictions regarding school sports, for either athletes or spectators, from either the MHSAA or the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS). Our protocols for the fall season are:
1. We are recommending, but not requiring, that players, coaches and families wear masks during practices and games.
2. Stay home if you are sick.
3. Players and coaches looking to return to the field after exposure to a COVID-positive person must complete a 10-day quarantine that starts after the last day of contact with that COVID-positive person.
4. Do not attend team activities if anyone in your household is awaiting COVID-19 test results. If a player has a positive test, symptoms of COVID-19, or was in close contact with someone with COVID-19, stay home! Please let your coach know if your player will miss any soccer activities because of COVID-19 and we'll confirm when they can return to play.
5. Coaches and teams should continue to exercise caution. Maintain social distancing when possible, keep huddles "loose", turn high fives into fist bumps.
Update: August 8, 2021:
We are closely monitoring recommendations from our state and local health departments as well as mask policies in our local schools as we plan for a safe Fall 2021 season. At the time of this release, there are no COVID-19-related state-ordered restrictions regarding school sports, for either athletes or spectators, from either the MHSAA or the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS).
Guidance from multiple studies tell us that outdoor activities remain far safer than indoor activities for those who are not yet vaccinated. With recent announcements from FHPS requiring the use of masks on buses but not when children are outdoors, we are planning for a season *without* mask requirements but we will, aligned with the schools, strongly encourage the use of masks. We will be updating our COVID-19 Safety Guidelines before our season starts and will share those on this site.
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Spring 2021 COVID-19 Updates
Update: May 15, 2021:
As our country and state continues to open up, today we can take a big step toward getting back to soccer as normal.
Hot off the press. Building on updated
CDC guidance and citing significant progress in vaccinations in Michigan, plus recent studies showing just how rare it is to transmit the virus outside, yesterday the MDHHS updated their
Gatherings and Face Mask Order. Noticeably absent from this new order was any requirement for masks during outdoor activities. Effective today at 9:00am, Michiganders will no longer be required to wear a mask outdoors in any setting, regardless of vaccination status.
Impact on sports. The
MHSAA followed up yesterday with an announcement specifically for contact sports including soccer, adding that "there is no longer a requirement that face masks be worn outdoors by any player, coach, team personnel, official or spectators."
New rules for Ada/Cascade AYSO. We will follow along with the MHSAA guidance above, recognizing that the wearing of a face mask has now shifted to be a matter of personal choice when outdoors. That said, we definitely don't want to be the reason players (or their siblings) have to miss school because they are stuck in quarantine, so we are *asking* coaches and players to stay masked up as much as possible as we navigate through these last few weeks of the season.
Help with the transition. Please be mindful and respectful of others' decisions (mask or no mask), and today in particular, recognize that because there was very limited time to get the word out, many people will show up to the field without full knowledge of a change in our mask policy so please be supportive in any way you can. This is the beginning of a transition that will happen at different speeds for different people.
Know the risks. We haven't beaten COVID-19 yet. It is still out there in our community. Please remember that while facial coverings are no longer required outdoors, the MDHHS still strongly recommends that individuals who are not fully vaccinated remain masked during outdoor organized sports activities, and, with or without a mask, the CDC still recommends staying socially-distanced when around people outside your household.
As always, as new information becomes available, we'll do our best to share it with you. Please reach out if you have questions or comments and thank you for your continued support of our program!
Update: May 7, 2021: Earlier this week, the
MDHHS updated their orders regarding gatherings and face masks. The MHSAA has published their
guidance to school districts, too. Here are some highlights of these new orders and their impact on our program: 1.)
No change to masks requirements for players and team personnel in contact sports: Players and coaches still need to wear masks while at practice and games. 2.)
Dropping mask requirements for spectators (in most cases): Where there are fewer than 100 people gathering for an AYSO game, face coverings for spectators are no longer required. If a soccer event has more than 100 spectators, face masks are required. Note that dropping mask requirements for spectators is contingent on still following basic
social distancing rules. 3.)
Quarantine now 10 days vs. 14 days: Per the Kent County Health Department, players and coaches looking to return to the field after exposure to a COVID-positive person must complete a 10-day quarantine (previously 14) that starts after the last day of contact with that COVID-positive person. 4.)
No change in testing protocols: Please do not attend team activities if anyone in your household is awaiting COVID-19 test results. If a player has a positive test, symptoms of COVID-19, or was in close contact with someone with COVID-19, stay home! See our updated Safety Guidelines (attached) for more details and please let your coach know if your player will miss any soccer activities because of COVID-19 and we'll confirm when they can return to play. While the spectators mask rule may be a welcome step forward for many of you, COVID-19 is still present in our community and it remains our firm belief that masks work, so for those spectators who choose to still wear them in support of the players and coaches and our goals of providing a safe environment in which to play soccer,
thank you. Should you have questions or concerns, please let us know.
Update: April 11, 2021: You may have seen Friday's announcement from the Governor suggesting a two week pause in youth sports. This was not a mandate but it encourages school districts to make decisions at a more local level about the best course of action for their students and athletes. And it comes on the heels of new requirements from the MDHHS requiring players age 13 and up to submit to weekly antigen testing. Schools and health experts are monitoring the localized spread of COVID-19 very closely. Like most other schools in the area, as of Friday, FHPS plans to move forward with spring sports outdoors and in accordance with MHSAA guidelines. Accordingly, we aim to begin practices and games on schedule this week. We saw zero transmission from soccer activities during our Fall season and are confident in our strengthened Covid-19 Safety Guidelines, including requiring masks for all players, volunteers and spectators (no exceptions). Please see the link above for our most up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for our Spring season.
Update: Mar 16, 2021 - Our new safety guidelines were drafted in concert with other AYSO regions in West Michigan, relying on the most current info from the CDC, the MDHHS, the MHSAA and local school districts. Masks continue to be the most effective way to limit the transmission of COVID-19, and as long as the MDHHS is cautioning Michigan residents about the risks involved in contact sports and social gatherings, we will insist that all of our participants (players, parents, coaches, spectators) honor our mask requirement and the rest of our safety guidelines. To support these efforts, our region will be providing re-usable cloth face coverings for all coaches and players and coaches will have disposable face masks for use if your child forgets to bring theirs to practice or to a game or is struggling with keeping their mask in place.
Please review these guidelines in full and familiarize yourself with our safety protocols and the commitments we must make to each other to keep everyone safe this season.
