A letter to Soccer Parents who ignore sideline rules:

Good morning Soccer Parent,

Your son had an incredible game this weekend. All of his training, commitment and hard work is coming together. You can tell soccer is truly his passion and your support, I’m sure has been a key to his success. You do everything we ask of you as a parent, you get your son to every practice and event. You even invest in supplement training. You make sure he is ready for each match, he eats right, always has his gear and arrives early.

I personally love hearing your family cheer for your son and its so cool that you all support him and want to come out to his games. The excitement (and anxiety) you express in your cheers are

contagious and one of the best parts of being on the sideline with you.

There is just one thing I want to talk to you about. You see, I noticed that you refuse to wear a mask on the sideline. You acknowledged that you know that’s the rule but as you put it you would “like to see someone try and make me”. I know you don’t believe the virus is real (you make sure everyone knows how you feel) and you know all of the science on how the virus is spread. But, that's not what I want to talk to you about. What I want to talk to you about is what it's going to take to continue to allow youth sports in our area.

This spring while many parents were complaining about sports being canceled and others were denying the existence of the virus our kids were suffering. Our kids were quietly working on their craft, training and preparing for the time when games would eventually come. You see our players would do anything to continue to play. As parents we need to have enough respect for our kids to do the same, which means follow the rules.

In the end, it's not about you (and it's not about me) It's about our kids. When we finally were given the opportunity to return to play we were asked to make some compromises. We were asked to wear a mask, socially distance and limit the number of spectators. These aren’t convenient requests but they are simple and easy ways that we can keep our kids playing.

So, I am asking you out of respect for your child, his teammates, your coaches and all of us who have been working tirelessly to bring soccer and sports back to Ohio please consider following the rules. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to seeing you and your family next week!

Sincerely,

A Soccer Mom