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Should I let my child play sports this year? A physician says yes, with some caveats

Tempering risks, tracking cases and training safely are Dr. Korin Hudson's "three T's" for safely returning to athletics.

WASHINGTON — It’s another consequential decision for parents, as millions of children begin the school year during an untamed pandemic: can kids, cooped up for months, somehow safely return to sports?

For Dr. Korin B. Hudson, the answer for her children is yes. But they won’t return to how sports were played and practiced before the world hit pause in March.

Hudson is a MedStar Health sports physician for both the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards. She divides her time between the pro sports teams and the emergency room, where she’s treated more than 100 COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began.

RELATED: The Wizards are back on Friday. Here’s what’s happening inside the NBA bubble to keep them COVID-19-free

The doctor is also a mother of two boys. She described how her 9-year-old son returned to baseball six weeks ago, illustrating his experience as a template for kids to get the exercise and social interactions necessary for healthy development.

“They initially brought back small groups, five at a time, for an hour-long practice with two or three coaches,” Hudson said. “They really spread them out into individual skill stations, and are working on the basic abilities they’ll need when things get back to somewhat normal.”

Credit: AP
Before entering the field gates for football strength and conditioning camp at Arlington Martin High School, athletic Trainer Joey Pena, right, uses a thermometer on the forehead of sophomore running back Gervawn Neville for a temperature check Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. While states have been easing the economic and social lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, some are now letting high school athletes return for summer workouts before teachers have even figured out how they are going to hold classroom instruction. (AP Photo/LM Otero)


Hudson emphasized how in her view, low-intensity intramural and club sports are the best play for this moment. Competition between schools should be dropped, she said, in favor of smaller practices that begin to gradually re-animate children from the pandemic’s form of physical atrophy.

“It's important that we return them gradually, over several weeks, starting with fitness, starting with conditioning, starting with basic skills, and slowly building up to that level they were at when we stopped abruptly back in March,” she said. “Doing that is going to really help us prevent significant injury, in addition to helping prevent infection risk.”

RELATED: Virginia high school sports league announces condensed sports seasons


Hudson said training safely comprises one of her “three T’s to return to sports,” outlined in a piece she penned for the Washington Post Tuesday. The other two T’s include tempering risks and tracking cases.

Tempering risks involves what’s plain to see in a video of her son’s team. Specifically, everyone is wearing a mask on the baseball diamond, even if they’re spread out, and even if the real-feel heat is approaching 100 degrees.

The basic principles of distancing and hygiene used to counter coronavirus must be enforced in all aspects of team life.

“That even extends to team meals together, no more of those,” Hudson said.

Tracking cases involves perhaps appointing a health officer for each team, who could assist with potential contact tracing, and would keep an eye on each player’s health.

But the well-being of parents and other family members is also key, as a new idea of teamwork takes hold in an age of coronavirus.

“That means if I, the parent, am sick, I should keep my athlete home,” Hudson said. “If my other child is sick, I should keep my athlete home.”

RELATED: NFL implements new rules and guidelines for playing through pandemic

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