Placer County residents say play ball, rally for youth sports

Placer County residents have a message for Gov. Gavin Newsom regarding the resumption of local youth sports: Let the kids play. An estimated 150-200 residents, including members of the Rocklin City Council and Placer County's Board of Supervisors, convened at Twin Oaks Park in Rocklin on Thursday evening in hopes of building momentum and support for local youth sports programs to get back on the playing fields. Organizers of what was dubbed as a "tailgate protest" said details of Newsom's plans to reopen parts of the state, particularly involving youth sports, are hazy at best. "Certain areas of California are live, but we're not," said Mike Cunningham, a Rocklin Little League parent and coach who helped organize Thursday's event. "It doesn't make sense. We're doing everything you're asking, but you're being unclear." Earlier this week, Placer County gave approval to its four high school districts to begin voluntary conditioning programs for fall sports with physical distancing and protective measures that follow the county's interim health guidelines. According to Placer County's Frequently Asked Questions page, youth sports are not currently permitted with "non-household members." However, earlier this week, the California Department of Public Health provided interim guidance for athletic conditioning and drills in counties that have a variance and have allowed gyms and other fitness facilities to reopen. The CDPH indicated youth sports safety guidelines are "under development" and that once issued, will replace the interim training protocols. "Coronavirus is still very much present in Placer County, and precautions are necessary as training resumes," read the statement from Placer County Health and Human Services. "Cooperation with these requirements is important to protect the health of Placer County residents." Placer County District 4 Supervisor Kirk Uhler, Rocklin Mayor Greg Janda and Councilmembers Bill Halldin and Ken Broadway attended the rally. "Getting our children out there playing sports – there's nothing better for their mental or physical health," said Broadway. Uhler shared the frustrations of the residents who attended Thursday's gathering. "We're so over this, emotionally, individually, collectively. We're so over this," said Uhler, who confirmed that Tuesday's Board of Supervisors agenda will include an item to consider "whether or not to use our authority over the local state of emergency to make findings that we can open youth sports in Placer County." Uhler noted his son, Jaden, a recent graduate of Del Oro High School, missed his senior season of lacrosse when COVID-19 concerns shut down spring sports. This would have been the first year lacrosse would be a sanctioned sport within the Sac-Joaquin Section. "He'll never get an opportunity like that again, and it was taken away for what?" Uhler said. "It's such an important part of growing up and a learning experience being able to play youth sports, achieving, failing, doing well, doing poorly. It all creates the character that we need in responsible adults. Every day that we are depriving kids from those kinds of character-building and learning opportunities is a day that we are depriving ourselves, depriving our community of good, solid future citizens." Several local Little Leagues and PONY leagues have already made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of their seasons, including Lincoln, Grass Valley, Sierra Foothills, Nevada City, Lakeside, Penn Valley, Tri-City, Woodcreek, Mid-Placer and Roseville, Rocklin and Golden Eagle PONY. There are still a handful of Little Leagues, including Roseville, Rocklin, Auburn and Maidu, that are hoping for approval of a midsummer restart with safety measures and a shortened schedule. "We're begging for our kids to have some normalcy," said Cunningham. "It could be youth theater or dance. It's not so much youth sports as it is the activities to keep our youth on the straight and narrow. "Youth have not had a strong voice (in shelter-in-place conversations). Businesses had a voice because they needed to take care of their families, but does the youth have a voice? That's what we're going to try to be."