Safety

Covid-19 Guidelines

Dear Georgetown FC Members,

Georgetown FC continues to follow national, state, and local restrictions and guidelines, including the CDC and Department of Health guidelines. We ask that all GFC families continue to do the same, while also adjusting to meet the unique needs and circumstances of our community. On Friday, May 22nd, Governor Beshear addressed the state with regards to youth sports being allowed to return on Monday, June 15th, 2020 in a limited capacity. The Governor gave guidance that all youth sports organizations must operate with restrictions and strong social distancing measures for the safety of our participants. To see his information regarding restrictions and precautionary measures, please visit the Kentucky Health at Work Website. Georgetown FC has also adopted the Kentucky Youth Soccer Association’s return to play plan, with some added guidelines of our own. The plan can be found below and on the KY Youth Soccer Association’s website. While these are only a few pieces we all need to consider as we emerge from our homes, our actions in the next few weeks will define the possibilities for us to play this Fall and next year.

In health and soccer,

Khamisi Campbell

GFC Director of Coaching

Return to Play Phases

Phase 1: Stay Home

No in-person soccer related activity
Online Training is acceptable

Phase 2: Individual/Small Group Training – June 15, 2020

Player to coach ratio per practice group of no more than ten (10) players and one (1) coach.
No more than 4 training groups per designated training area(field).
Ensure that each practice group has a different location to place bags and water. They should not congregate in the middle of the field of play or meet in the same place.
Practices limited to non-contact individual activities while following social distancing protocols (individual skills, fitness, etc.). No group activities allowed in this stage.
Stagger start times for training to minimize players arriving and leaving at the same time
Games or scrimmages are NOT permitted in this phase. 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, etc. are not permitted due to the potential contact.
Parents must follow social distancing guidelines and should remain in their cars if possible.

Phase 3: Larger Group/Team Training – June 29, 2020

Player to coach ratio per practice group of no more than ten (10) players and one (1) coach. Multiple groups in the same team may practice simultaneously but must follow social distance protocols.
Avoid physical contact.
Staggered start times for practice to minimize players arriving and leaving at the same time.
Parent/Guardian may watch practice but adhere to social distancing requirements.
No games or scrimmages are permitted in this phase. Activities should continue to adhere to social distancing policies (e.g. passing patterns, zone games, etc.). Limited physical contact is acceptable in accordance with the low touch, medium sharing guidelines as determined by the Governor’s office.

Phase 4: Return to Full Team Training - August 25th (Current Phase)

Staggered start times for practice to minimize players arriving and leaving at the same time.
Intra club Scrimmages and competitive activities are now permitted.
Social distancing guidelines for parents and other spectators.

Phase 5: Full Return to play - September 7th

Friendlies, League, and Tournament Matches can resume with spectator restrictions.
No training session restrictions.
League/Tournament protocols: Social Distancing for spectators & Staggered start times to limit the interactions with teams arriving and leaving the field of play.
Social distancing guidelines will remain in place for the entirety of the Fall season or until told otherwise by health officials.
No overnight travel or tournaments this Fall for any of our GFC teams.

General hygiene practices to reduce the risk of spread of infection:

The following practices should be reinforced within your soccer organization and community to mitigate transmission of any communicable disease.

Avoid touching your face.
Frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when water is not available.
Cover mouth and nose (with elbow) when coughing or sneezing and wash hands afterward.
Wear a face mask or covering when outside if you will come in contact with people.
Frequently clean commonly used surfaces (doorknobs) with an antiseptic cleanser.
Avoid contact with other individuals (shaking hands, for example).
Maintain a distance of 6 feet between you and others.
Stay home if you feel sick and contact your health care provider.

RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES

Maintain a complete list of coaches, youth athletes, and league officials present at each event to include the date, beginning and ending time of the event, name, address and phone contact to be made available upon the request from the local health department.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces as often as possible. Only coaches should touch or move field equipment like cones, poles, mannequins and goals.
Have an effective communication plan in place, identify strategies for working with public health to notify adult leaders, youth and their families if the organization learns a player or coach has contracted COVID-19 and may have been infectious to others while at a youth activity, while maintaining confidentiality.
Be sensitive and accommodating to parents that may be uncomfortable with returning to play too quickly.
Train and educate all staff to protocols and requirements, including state and local regulations, CDC recommendations and other necessary information.
Be prepared to shut down and stop operations. Develop plans for temporary closure of indoor facilities and cancel outdoor activities or camps to properly disinfect and ensure other adult leaders or youth are not infected.
Provide adequate field space for social distancing.
Provide hand sanitizing stations and waste receptacles at fields. If this poses a challenge then each player will be required to have their own individual hand sanitizer.
Develop a relationship and a dialog with health local officials (identify Risk Tolerance).

Club Responsibilities

Create and distribute protocols to members.
Contact any additional insurers if your club holds any policies outside of what is included in your Kentucky Youth Soccer membership to ensure all coverages.
Post signs in highly visible locations (e.g., at entrances and exits, and in restrooms) that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread of germs such as by properly washing hands and properly wearing a cloth face covering.
Maintain a complete list of coaches, youth athletes, and league officials present at each event to include the date, beginning and ending time of the event, name, address and phone contact to be made available upon the request from the local health department.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces on the field surface at least daily, or between uses as much as possible. Use of shared objects and equipment should be limited or cleaned between uses by each individual if possible.
Have an effective communication plan in place, identify strategies for working with public health to notify adult leaders, youth and their families if the organization learns a player or coach has contracted COVID-19 and may have been infectious to others while at a youth activity, while maintaining confidentiality.
Be sensitive and accommodating to parents that may be uncomfortable with returning to play too quickly.
Train and educate all staff to protocols and requirements, including state and local regulations, CDC recommendations and other necessary information.
Be prepared to shut down and stop operations. Develop plans for a temporary closure of indoor facilities and cancel outdoor activities or camps to properly disinfect and ensure other adult leaders or youth are not infected.
Provide adequate field space for social distancing.
Provide hand sanitizing stations and waste receptacles at fields.
Develop a relationship and a dialog with health local officials. (identify Risk Tolerance)

Coach Responsibilities

Ensure the health and safety of all players.
Inquire how the athletes are feeling, send them home should you believe they act or look ill.
Follow all state and local health protocols.
Ensure all athletes have their individual equipment (ball, water bottles, bag, etc.)
Coach is the only person to handle all practice equipment. (cones, disk etc.)
Coach to sanitize/clean all personal training equipment before and after each session (e.g. cones, discs, etc.)
All training should be outdoors and ensure social distancing per state or local health guidelines.
Always wear a face mask when coaching, maintain social distance requirements from players based on state and local health requirements.
Have fun, stay positive – players and parents are looking to you to stay calm, supportive and caring during this time.
Players should only use clean practice vests, that shouldn't be shared or exchanged by players during practice.
Practice vests should be washed after every practice in warm water.

Parent Responsibilities

Ensure child is healthy and check your child’s temperature daily.
Temperature must be below 100.4 to train.
Limited or no carpooling with other players.
Stay in car or adhere to social distance requirements, based on state and local health requirements, when at practice wear mask if outside your car.
Ensure child’s clothing is washed after every training session.
Ensure all equipment, cleats, ball, shin guards etc. are sanitized before and after every training.
Notify member organization immediately if your child becomes ill for any reason.
Do not assist the coach with equipment before or after training.
Be sure your child has necessary sanitizer with them at all times.

Player Responsibilities

Take temperature daily, especially on practice days.
Wash hands thoroughly before and after training.
Bring and use, hand sanitizer with you to every training.
Wear mask before and immediately after all training.
Do not touch or share anyone else’s equipment, water, snack or bag.
Practice social distancing, place bags and equipment at least 6 feet apart.
Wash and sanitize all equipment before and after every training.
No group celebrations, no high 5’s, Hugs, handshakes etc.

Frequently Asked questions

Do I Need to wear PPE while Training?

All participants (coaches, players, referees, instructors, administrators) are recommended to wear new or clean PPE upon arrival, departure and when not physically active during activities. While being physically active, PPE may obscure vision, increase respiratory challenges, or increase other injury risk. Provided all screening, hygiene and social distancing measures are followed, masks are not mandatory during exertional moments of training (i.e. when physically active). Guidelines may change based on evolving medical and health information, as well as local state or federal guidelines.

My players or child hasn’t trained in weeks how should I proceed when they return to practice?

Due to stay-at-home guidelines throughout the country, many players have been unable to train and have been less active while at home. Players may not be physically prepared to return to full intensity training and as a result, are at greater risk for injury or illness should they be placed in a full-intensity training environment. Do not do “too much, too soon.” Trainings are recommended to be no longer than 60 minutes during Phase 2 or 3. Coaches should carefully assess their players’ fitness levels to best plan for and manage the volume, intensity and frequency of early return-to-play trainings. Avoid greater risk of injury and illness by gradually reintroducing yourself to play in a safe and progressive manner. Coaches should plan to progress to full intensity training over 2-4 weeks.

Will I need to be tested to return to play?

U.S. Soccer has outlined recommendations for medical clearance to return to play for individuals with pre-existing conditions, individuals who have experienced known COVID-19 exposure within the past 14 days, for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and for individuals experiencing any illness at this time. Please refer to the Play On Soccer Recommendation Guide for details. At this time, coaches or participants with no known exposure to COVID-19 will not be required to provide written confirmation of COVID-19 negative status from a physician or test. Testing may become an additional variable in decreasing risk for COVID-19; however, accessibility and costs for the wider public need to be considered and are deferred to federal, state and local regulations. Other guidance for return to play will be determined based on requirements from state and local authorities’ guidelines relative to group size allowances and health officials’ clearance for opening recreational activity facilities.

What should you do If you believe you’ve been exposed to Covid-19?

If you believe you have been exposed, stay at home and begin to self-quarantine for 14 days. Contact and follow the directions of your physician. Tell your parents who can communicate with the coach or club administrator.

To follow up on this: if a player contracts covid-19 we will inform the league and opposing teams we’ve played in the past 3 weeks. If multiple players on a team get sick then we will consider suspension of practices and games for that team and inform all the necessary stakeholders.